Against the vivid backdrop of a country replacing corrupt communism with an equally corrupt capitalism, the geologist-turned-mayor of Markovo becomes obsessed with a grisly murder. Ordered to investigate, Mayor Gregori Nowek, no detective, soon finds himself in a labyrinth of deception that nevertheless begins to yield clues that point first toward a scientist studying the nearly extinct Siberian tiger, the beautiful Dr. Anna Vereskaya and ultimately towards an American-financed oil exploration venture.

Synopsis by Vladimir Beregovoy Notes of an East Siberian Hunter by A. A. Cherkassov is among the oldest bestsellers in Russia, in print since 1865. This book has often been called an encyclopedia of hunting in nineteenth century East Siberia. It has been cherished and read and reread by generations of hunters and naturalists. It was my dream to share its content with the world outside Russia. I met Steve Bodio*, who is also a naturalist and a professional writer with experience in hunting and Russian literature and history. Working together, we completed its first translation into English. The book is narrated in a lively, colloquial Siberian folk dialect; we tried to preserve it as much as possible. Its content includes meticulous descriptions of hunting methods, wildlife, ways of life, customs and even superstitions common among Russian frontiersmen and the native people of East Siberia in the nineteenth Century. It will be a good reference for historians, biologists, geographers, ethnographers, hunters, linguists and serious environmentalists. V. B *Stephen Bodio, author of Eagle Dreams, On the Edge of the Wild, and Querencia among other titles-- see Amazon.com for reviews.

This “melodious” mix of music, history, and travelogue “reveals a story inextricably linked to the drama of Russia itself . . . These pages sing like a symphony.” —The Wall Street Journal Siberia’s story is traditionally one of exiles, penal colonies, and unmarked graves. Yet there is another tale to tell. Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos—grand instruments created during the boom years of the nineteenth century, as well as humble Soviet-made uprights that found their way into equally modest homes. They tell the story of how, ever since entering Russian culture under the westernizing influence of Catherine the Great, piano music has run through the country like blood. How these pianos traveled into this snowbound wilderness in the first place is testament to noble acts of fortitude by governors, adventurers, and exiles. Siberian pianos have accomplished extraordinary feats, from the instrument that Maria Volkonsky, wife of an exiled Decembrist revolutionary, used to spread music east of the Urals, to those that brought reprieve to the Soviet Gulag. That these instruments might still exist in such a hostile landscape is remarkable. That they are still capable of making music in far-flung villages is nothing less than a miracle. The Lost Pianos of Siberia follows Roberts on a three-year adventure as she tracks a number of instruments to find one whose history is definitively Siberian. Her journey reveals a desolate land inhabited by wild tigers and deeply shaped by its dark history, yet one that is also profoundly beautiful—and peppered with pianos. “An elegant and nuanced journey through literature, through history, through music, murder and incarceration and revolution, through snow and ice and remoteness, to discover the human face of Siberia. I loved this book.” —Paul Theroux