Sigumо. Scarpe of the Baskakovy. Tea Party in Bristol

Sigumo:
1881, Yokohama.
The story takes place during Erast Fandorin’s service as a Russian vice-consul in Japan.
Under strange circumstances in a Buddhist monastery in Yokohama, the hermit monk Meitan dies—formerly a Russian nobleman, a diplomat, and Fandorin’s colleague.
There are rumors that Meitan’s death was caused by Sigumo—a gigantic werewolf, a vampire-spider.
But Fandorin suspects that the hermit’s death has a quite earthly explanation, and begins his own investigation…

Scarapeia of the Baskakovs.:
1888.
The main character is Anisiy Tulpánov, assistant to Erast Fandorin.
The plot of Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” is transplanted onto Russian soil. No wonder the initial letters “S” and “B” in the titles of the books match.
In the remote Parikhinsky district of the Moscow region, the ancient Baskakov line has come to an end. Locals attribute what happened to the family’s magical creature—the serpent Scarapeia. There are also those who claim they’ve seen a gigantic snake in the local swamps. Panic breaks out in the district.
The zemstvo leadership complains to Moscow about the clergymen who pander to superstition; the clergy, in turn, complain about the godless zemstvo leadership. To clarify the circumstances of the case, by Fandorin’s order his assistant, the district secretary Anisiy Tulpánov, goes to the village…

Tea Party in Bristol:
Bristol, 1891.
After a sharp refusal to an august person (“Privy Counsellor”), Fandorin was expelled beyond the borders of his native country and forced, in poverty, to live temporarily in Bristol. Renting a room from an elderly Englishwoman, Miss Palmer, he and the elderly lady successfully investigate the disappearance of a family treasure belonging to a noble English family. Precisely this case—more specifically, the reward received for it—leads Fandorin to the thought that investigating crimes can be turned into a business.