A classic detective story with a light touch of mysticism. Vladimir Dementyev is the kind of investigator for whom it’s important to get answers to every question—even if those answers lie beyond the bounds of ordinary perception of the world. When he is invited to read the will of one of the victims of a serial killer, he has no idea that he will be drawn into a deadly game in which each night the Mafia kills Honest Residents, and by day the Residents lynch the supposed Mafia. Do the players obey the will of the cursed deck, or is someone simply staging a performance? The so-called Commissioner must look not only for the murderers who have been dealt black cards, but for whoever set it all in motion—the mysterious Host.
The novel “The City Sleeps” belongs to the series “Normal Abnormal,” but within it it is a fully independent story, standing apart from the main cycle.