Criminally Good

Acclaimed for his sense of wit and wry observation of contemporary Russian life, Croatian-born Novakovich’s new novel combines farce with trenchant political observation. It is the early 2000s when a financially devastated American arrives in Saint Petersburg to restart his life. He is picked up by a cab driven by a police officer who tells him Russia is “a horrible country full of crooks and thieves.” The novel reads a bit like the comedy routine, ‘Who’s on First?’ From the satirical title to an appearance by Putin himself offering a devil’s bargain, here is a crime novel that celebrates the absurd.

Jane Smiley’s latest even has a mysterious plotline—featuring two amateur sleuths in 1850s Gold Rush California. The bordello Eliza finds herself working in after her husband dies in Kalamazoo is a far cry from home, but she relishes her independence and the sense of camaraderie. When two prostitutes turn up missing, she and her friend Jean decide to solve the case. As the epigraph states, “being a woman is a dangerous business, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” With echoes of E. A. Poe and a lightness of touch that is both appealing and compelling, these early feminist detectives are a delight to follow.