The Russian Detective

By Carol Adlem. Published by Jonathan Cape. 

Hardcover, 112 pages, Colour & Monochrome, 2024. 

A stunning detective story from the winner of the World Illustration Award

'Beautifully-drawn... Subversive, immersive' KATE CHARLESWORTH, author of Sally Heathcote

In this stunning reimagining of a nineteenth-century Russian crime thriller from the world of Dostoevsky, Carol Adlam presents Charlie Fox, stunt journalist, magician, liar and thief, who reluctantly returns to her hometown of Nowheregrad to investigate the murder of Elena Ruslanova, daughter of a fabulously wealthy glass manufacturer.

In Nowheregrad Charlie finds herself caught up in a multi-layered story that is told through the richly varied visual devices of the time. With the unwitting assistance of her lover, Netochka, Charlie unravels the mystery of the Bobrov family, only to face the truth about herself.

Exquisitely drawn and compellingly told, Adlam's complex, elegant narrative brings to life the lost legacies of early crime fiction and the first women journalists and detectives.

• Could not be more rich or more beautiful if it tried. This is a book that replays multiple readings… its illustrations, so deeply atmospheric and so inordinately beautiful

• I mightily enjoyed lingering over this beautifully-drawn story. A deliciously layered palimpsest of texture, period pastiche and detail; subversive, immersive and elegant

• The Russian Detective is truly incredible… a gorgeous intricate work of artwith a really gripping and touching story. The book took me to Russia so fully that I could almost taste the vodka! Carol Adlam does character detail so well, all her illustrations are full of daring experiments with scale and structure, but also so many small moments of humour and warmth.

• Grin-inducingly clever, this is a thrilling tour de force