The Secret Liquidator

1954. The quiet provincial town of Kachinsk is swept by a wave of former prisoners released under an amnesty. During a police operation on the edge of the city, a notorious criminal known as Buba is killed: managing to break out of an encirclement, he suddenly runs into the knife of an unknown assailant. Captain of the Criminal Investigation Department, Andrey Nekrasov, comes to the conclusion that this is not a coincidence, but someone’s carefully planned revenge.

Very soon, three more deaths occur in the town—and the last of them looks especially horrifying: the body shows signs of torture. Who and why is dealing with people who, at first glance, have nothing to do with one another? Nekrasov reviews the records of the dead—and the facts that emerge literally send chills down his spine…

The investigation leads detectives from city backstreets to archival files, from the apartments of the murdered to ambushes in the forest. The everyday work of the police is made harder by the amnesty, after which thousands of people who know only how to rob and kill took to the streets…

The main characters are worn-out, calm, and experienced professionals. Frontline veterans bearing both personal pain and the burden of duty. That is exactly how fans of detective stories remember them—from memories and old films they love.