The Dead Mountaineer's Inn: One More Last Rite for the Detective Genre

Boris Strugatsky; Arkady Strugatsky

ISBN 10: 1504660277 ISBN 13: 9781504660273

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc., 2015

Synopsis

[Translated by Josh Billings]
[Read by Keth Szarabajka]

From the Russian masters of sci-fi comes The Dead Mountaineer's Inn, a hilarious spoof on the classic country-house murder mystery.

When Inspector Peter Glebsky arrives at a remote ski chalet on vacation, the last thing he intends to do is get involved in any police work. He's there to ski, drink brandy, and loaf around in blissful solitude.

But he hadn't counted on the other vacationers, an eccentric bunch, including a famous hypnotist, a physicist with a penchant for gymnastic feats, a sulky teenager of indeterminate gender, and the mysterious Mr. and Mrs. Moses. And as the chalet fills up, strange things start happening -- things that seem to indicate the presence of another, unseen guest. Is there a ghost on the premises? A prankster? Something more sinister?

When an avalanche blocks the mountain pass and traps everyone in the chalet, the corpse is finally discovered. Glebsky's vacation is over, and he's embarked on the most unusual investigation he's ever been involved with. In fact, the further he looks into it, the more Glebsky realizes that the victim may not even be human.

In this late novel from the legendary Russian sci-fi duo -- here in its first-ever English translation -- the Strugatskys gleefully upend the plot of many an Hercule Poirot mystery -- and the result is much funnier and much stranger than anything Agatha Christie ever wrote.

About this title

About the Author

Boris Strugatsky (1933-2012) worked as an astronomer and computer engineer until 1966, when he became a full-time writer. Along with his brother, Arkady, he is one of the most famous and popular Russian writers of science fiction. Together they wrote twenty-five novels and novellas, and their books have been widely translated and made into a number of films.

Arkady Strugatsky (1925-1991) was drafted into the Soviet army and trained at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow, from which he graduated in 1949 as an interpreter of English and Japanese. He worked as a teacher and interpreter for the military until 1955, when he began to work as an editor and writer. In 1958 he began to collaborate with his brother, Boris. Along with his brother, he is one of the most famous and popular Russian writers of science fiction. Together they wrote twenty-five novels and novellas, and their books have been widely translated and made into a number of films.

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1504660277
• ISBN 13: 9781504660273
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 1