Originally published in hardcover by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1999.
In the late 1890s, Dimitri Kameron, a lawyer in Krusk (and
now Deputy Procurator) becomes involved in the investigation of the
disappearance an icon--of the One-Legged Lady.
The disappearance comes during a famine in Tula (and surrounding
villages), and demonstrations (which have attracted the interest of Volkov and
the Corps of the Gendarmes--the Cossacks).
Dimitri wants to resolve the disappearance of the icon and forestall any
attack by the Cossacks on the villagers.
He's an appealing character--a "modernist," who
believes the Law (capital L) has to be independent of the Tsar, and of the
aristocracy, and especially of the Cossacks.
(More than 100 years later...well, Vladimir Putin.) The second (and so far final) book featuring
Dimitri (the first was 1997’s Dimitri and
the Milk Drinkers), and Pearce clearly understands the time and the society
in which he has set these stories.
The mystery element is fairly slight, but the issue of the
rule of law is pretty central to most mystery novel. These books are no longer in print, and may
not be easy to find, but they are worth the effort.
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