The Staff of Two-Faced Janus

In the new novel, Alexandra Marinina retains the traits characteristic of her work: deep psychological analysis, sharp social perception, and an engaging detective plot. This time, however, the author introduces elements from the future, allowing the reader to look at the crime through the eyes of people living decades later—when the truth has already lost its relevance.

In 2024 in Moscow, a double tragedy occurs: a young blogger who covered the topic of phone scams is killed, and her neighbor—a former police colonel—is found hanged. The official authorities quickly conclude that it was a murder and suicide, and the case is conveniently closed. But everything is too simple…

66 years later, the son of the famous writer Strazhalkovsky decides to find the truth. He doesn’t need it for restoring justice, but to republish the book that made his family famous, with one of its chapters devoted to this story. To republish it, he needs to clarify the facts. He hires an agent, Evgeny Bocharov, to travel back in time. In 2090, a technology called “Tunnel” allows a traveler to observe events from the past without interfering with them. The mercenary is prepared under the supervision of Nayanna, a young instructor who becomes personally involved with the mission faster than she realizes. Meanwhile, someone powerful is trying to stop this mission…