14 best Russian books of detective stories

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

The detective genre in literature is good with a twisted plot, the denouement of which in a good book is unknown, it is sometimes impossible to guess before it. What else do you need for an interesting pastime? We present the rating, which includes the 14 best Russian books of detective stories of different years. With them, you will definitely spend your leisure time with the benefit of your soul and mind.

Rating of the best Russian books of detective stories

Nomination	a place	detective name	rating
Rating of the best Russian books of detective stories	1	The Man from the House Opposite, Elena Mikhalkova	4.9
	2	Azazel, Boris Akunin	4.8
	3	Lilith Hounds, Christina Stark	4.7
	4	House of faceless shadows, Lena Obukhova	4.6
	5	Traveling with wild geese, Tatiana Rusuberg	4.5
	6	Evil Wind, Arkady Adamov	4.5
	7	SONG OF DEAD BIRDS, VYACHESLAV PRAKH	4.5
	8	Oligarch from the Big Dipper, Tatiana Ustinova	4.3
	9	There is no grasshopper in the grass, Elena Mikhalkova	4.4
	10	River Fog Mystery, Alexey Maltsev	4.3
	11	Fox footprint on stones	4.2
	12	The Roman Room Method, Igor Lebedev	4.1
	13	Poisoned Mask, Valeria Verbinina	4.0

The Man from the House Opposite, Elena Mikhalkova

Rating: 4.9

A series of detective novels about Sergei Babkin and Makar Ilyushin continued with the book 'The Man from the House Opposite'. This time, a woman turned to the detectives in the bureau with a request to help in the search for Nikita Safronov's brother, who disappeared 3 days ago. Shortly before his disappearance, he came to visit his sister in terrible excitement, unable to connect words. When he came to his senses, he clarified the situation: one of Nikita's clients, who worked as a realtor, asked to rent the house for the time of his departure. The young man decided to take advantage of his official position and moved into the house himself to improve his financial situation. However, the calm quickly passed: Nikita began to feel that someone was watching him. In search of confirmation of suspicions, Nikita decided to go around the house, came across a locked door to the basement. Having found the keys, he enters the room, finds a darkroom there, where he discovers pictures of four people – these are former classmates of the young man, they are already dead. The woman reassured her brother, after which he returned home, after which he disappeared. A woman cannot go to the police, Nikita lived in the house illegally. The applicant is sure that if something had happened to her brother, he would have called her, but this did not happen … The detectives got down to business.

Azazel, Boris Akunin

Rating: 4.8

The first novel about the famous detective Erast Fandorin. Still young, fearless and attractive, he begins his service in the police department, and immediately with a complicated case.

The story takes place in 1876 in Moscow. The student in a strange way lays hands on himself, but what is his motive, because he is the heir of a large fortune ?! The detective consistently unravels the crime, during the process he goes to an underground organization. As often happens, high-ranking officials with connections in the political world are involved in the case.

Istria Azazel is a captivating detective story that has become a classic of the genre. Fandorin is revealed in the work as a talented and extraordinary detective who, in parallel, managed to find love and lose it forever.

Lilith Hounds, Christina Stark

Rating: 4.7

Sky Polanski works in a cafe in Dublin, where one day a stranger named Lilith appears, who turns out to be the owner of a clinic in Boston. The girl offers the heroine a job as a secretary, but Sky is not ready for such changes, however, due to constant failures, in the end she agrees and accepts the offer. This became the starting point in an interesting business. It turned out that under the cover of the clinic, an illegal business was disguised, bringing the owner and her team a lot of income. Now the door to a luxurious life is open for Lilith. How long will this happiness last, and how will it end for the heroine?

The plot reminds stories of gentle and naive girls who fall under the charm of brutal beauties, but Lilith Hounds is a real detective, not a classic love story.

House of faceless shadows, Lena Obukhova

Rating: 4.6

It is common for shadows to fade with the onset of a sunny day. And if one did not disappear, but remained? Is this a messenger from another world or another experiment of the special services? Or maybe this is just a figment of the imagination of the inhabitants of the house, who are bored with everyday life?

The action takes place in a small town where everyone knows each other. It is no coincidence that Vojtech and his friends find themselves in this place – they have to find out what kind of shadow scares the townspeople, if this is not an invention. Reading captures from the first pages – it becomes clear that the same thing could not seem to different people, far from belief in otherworldly forces.

Traveling with wild geese, Tatiana Rusuberg

Rating: 4.5

If you do not know that 'Traveling with Wild Geese' is a work of fiction, you might think that history really happened, because Tatyana Rusuberg touches on such a 'painful' topic for Russia and the world as a whole, as the disappearance of people.

At the beginning of history, there are statistics: the number of people missing in the country is the population of a small town. Half of them are alive or dead, the other half disappear without a trace. One of the missing is the boy Denis.

The detective 'Traveling with Wild Geese' is the story of a kidnapped boy who once managed to return to his home sunny city. What did he see and how did it affect him?

We warn you: this book will make the reader look into the depths of his own soul and pretty much ruffle his nerves.

Evil Wind, Arkady Adamov

Rating: 4.5

The Evil Wind detective story is two parts that must be read sequentially.

In the first book, an unusual criminal plot is tied: in Moscow hotels, guests of high-class rooms lose various objects, and without a trace. Only once did a criminal try to kill a cleaning lady, which became a clue for the detectives. An identikit was compiled and sent to the cities of the USSR. The detectives managed to establish the name of the criminal – Mushansky. Then one of the stolen dresses was handed over to a commission shop, the first person involved appeared – Varvara Glotova. Operatives begin to unwind the tangle of crime and soon from the usual robberies and already in the second part they go on the trail of a large group and impending economic crimes of a large scale. Detectives are being introduced into the criminal environment.

Song of Dead Birds, Vyacheslav Prakh

Rating: 4.5

The fantastic detective novel 'The Song of the Dead Birds' has a self-explanatory title, in the language of a psychiatrist denoting the silence that reigns in the wards of the clinic for the mentally ill. Once the peace of the hospital is interrupted by the death of a young twenty-year-old boy named Erich Bel. According to the police, he committed suicide, but his doctor has a different opinion. The director of the clinic also discovers a number of inconsistencies: a different handwriting in the suicide note, a locked window and other oddities that prevent doctors from believing in suicide. And why would a guy with circular depression leave this life, he was one of the calmest patients?

The police wash their hands, the director himself takes up the investigation. In the course of unraveling the events that have taken place, a lot of oddities are revealed, and in the ward where the deceased lay, unusual phenomena began to occur.

Oligarch from the Big Dipper, Tatiana Ustinova

Rating: 4.4

The main character Liza Arsenyeva, head of an advertising agency, does not like changes, preferring the established course of life. However, the changes she secretly expected came suddenly, when a new owner, a former multibillionaire, and now a concurrent prisoner, Dmitry Beloklyuchevsky, moves into the neighboring dacha. He was the owner of Black Gold, but when the wheel of Fortune turned away from him, he lost everything and ended up behind bars. Now he has not a penny in his pocket, and his appearance resembles a homeless person.

With the advent of Dima, Lisa's quiet life changed – at first, the corpse of her colleagues is found in the garage, and a few days later an attempt is made to kill both main characters. Dmitry with a dexterous movement saves both lives, dodging a bullet, but now Lisa herself has to take up arms in order to protect the former oligarch himself.

Why did they try to kill Lisa and Dmitry, where did the corpse come from, and what generally happens to the 'rich man'? The director of an advertising agency, without knowing it, entered into a dangerous game that she likes more and more, because these are the very changes that she was waiting for …

There is no grasshopper in the grass, Elena Mikhalkova

Rating: 4.4

Another book from the cycle of detectives by Elena Mikhalkova about Makar Ilyushin and Sergei Bakin. A family vacation by the sea is associated with a measured pastime, but fatal unpredictable events happened in a popular resort country with one married couple. They failed to enjoy the sun, sea and resort offers: one morning, his wife disappeared from the hotel. The husband, who has no idea about the whereabouts of his wife, immediately went to the police, but the detectives have no leads. The first version is murder, the main suspect is the husband himself, but how to prove his involvement without having a corpse, besides, the family was exemplary? Ilyushin and Babkin begin to unravel the criminal tangle, which, it turns out, began to drag on long before the designated events.

The Mystery of the River Fog, Alexey Maltsev

Rating: 4.3

The author of the next novel, Alexei Maltsev, is a practicing doctor, so the books written by him are of a specific nature, most of the stories are taken from medical practice and contain many terms.

So, a meeting of graduates of the Medical Academy, a cruise ship, waiting for a pleasant evening. But chance changes the course of the event: in the course of congratulations and joyful memories, old grievances emerge, feelings rejected in student years that left a mark on the souls of the rejected, at the end of the evening a brutal murder takes place. It would seem that the old scores were settled and the story received a logical conclusion, but it soon became clear: the murdered man had nothing to do with past love events. There is panic on the ship, everyone is waiting for the continuation of the denouement. Surgeon Pyotr Frolov, who has always been distinguished by his perspicacity and unusual mind, is taken to unravel the plot.

Fox's footprint on the stones, Elena Mikhalkova

Rating: 4.2

And again in the ranking is a book from a series of detective stories about Makar Ilyushin and Sergei Babkin. This time they take on an unusual case: they are approached by the killer Andrei Krasilshchikov, who himself confessed to the murder and that he hid the body. But is it? If so, where is the body? – it could not be found either by the police on a tip from the criminal, or by detectives. In search of answers, detectives are faced with long-forgotten secrets from the past, where the fate of people intertwined, truth and lie. Will Ilyushin and Babkin be able to win this 'Battle'?

The detectives go to the village where the alleged murder took place, but the questioning of witnesses only confuses the case more – the testimonies of the witnesses contradict each other and the version of Krasil'shchikov himself.

The novel is interesting not only for the storyline, but also for the many characters with unique characters and recognizable manners. Moreover, for the first time, detectives Makar and Sergei look at the case differently. Will they be able to stay in one team and solve this intricate, but interesting case?

The Roman Room Method, Igor Lebedev

Rating: 4.1

After the death of his parents, Ilya Ardov left Moscow and underwent treatment at the clinic. Having recovered and returned to normal, he did not refuse to observe doctors, he entered the University of Zurich. One day he learns about the death of the investigator who was investigating the death of his father. Suspecting that something was wrong, Ilya returns to the Russian capital, enters the service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, though not without effort – he is hindered by Yevsey Troekurov, who did not like the guy's tired look and nervousness, despite his excellent European education. However, the decision was made and Ilya goes on a trial period.

Ardov immediately gets down to work: first he gets the case of the theft of Madame Defontel's hat needles, to untangle which the guy was given only 3 days as an excuse to get rid of the recruit. But in the course of the work, the murder of one person involved was added to the main case, whose death came from the hit of one of the needles directly in the heart, released from the back right on target! How to act for a new recruit, because he has only 3 days! Surprisingly, the guy was helped by his phenomenal memory, which Ardov did not even know about.

Poisoned Mask, Valeria Verbinina

Rating: 4.0

The story took place in 1880. The once wealthy family is ruined, the only hope for a speedy restoration of the state is to successfully marry her daughter Amalia, who is confident in her success in high society. She was preparing for the Lanins' ball in this way, but it turned out in vain: the event was canceled due to the death of Julie Lanina. Amalia meets the detective Sasha Zyablikov, who in great secrecy told her about a series of mysterious deaths of girls from wealthy families. The heroine became interested in the investigation, but soon she also becomes a target – then she almost fell under the wheels of the carriage, and the kitten died after drinking milk from her cup.

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Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.