A new book by the most fashionable author of retro detectives Nikolai Svechin, the most popular after Akunin in the genre! The book is part of a series of works about the detective Alexey Lykov and is the 34th in a row, but it can also be read as an independent work.The book consists of five short stories that return the reader to the times of the young Lykov and the still living Blagovo.Absolutely creepy mysterious incidents from one of the most popular authors of historical detectives, the winner of the "Russian Detective" award Nikolai Svechin.In the spring of 1884, the dark, heavy ice descended from the Neva late. A dank, damp wind began to wash ugly swollen corpses to the shores and shallows. This time there were just an awful lot of them. However, the St. Petersburg police quickly and without a shadow of doubt found the reasons: then drowning by negligence, then in an alcoholic state, then in unconsciousness. Accidents, what can you do... the Vice-director of the Police Department Pavel Afanasyevich Blagovo does not agree with the official point of view. Together with Alexey Lykov, he is seeking permission to re-open the body of a certain innkeeper Ostashkov, who allegedly fell into the river drunk. The results of the analysis of water in the lungs of the deceased stun Blagovo…