Запах смерти

Ėndri͡u Teĭlor - "odin iz luchshikh sovremennykh avtorov v zhanre istoricheskogo detektiva" (The Times). On udostoen mnogikh literaturnykh nagrad, takikh kak vysshai͡a premii͡a Assot͡siat͡sii pisateleĭ-kriminalistov Velikobritanii "Almaznyĭ kinzhal", premii͡a Assot͡siat͡sii pisateleĭ-istorikov "Zolotai͡a korona", premii͡a "Barri", premii͡a Ėllisa Pitersa v oblasti istoricheskoĭ literatury 2013 goda. "Teĭlora vsegda interesovala nestabilʹnostʹ zhizni i soputstvui͡ushchai͡a eĭ istina: esli voznikaet neobkhodimostʹ, prodaetsi͡a vse - pravda, chestʹ, li͡ubovʹ. Imenno tak proiskhodit v Nʹi͡u-Ĭorke XVIII veka" (The Guardian). Prodolzhaetsi͡a Voĭna za nezavisimostʹ SShA. V avguste 1778 goda Mankhėtten, britanskiĭ forpost, okruzhennyĭ silami povstant͡sev, napominaet plavilʹnyĭ kotel: zdesʹ polno soldat, bezhent͡sev, dezertirov, maroderov. . . V ėto neprostoe vremi͡a na amerikanskiĭ bereg skhodit Ėdvard Sėvill, londonskiĭ klerk, kotoromu porucheno razobratʹsi͡a s pretenzii͡ami loi͡alistov, trebui͡ushchikh kompensat͡sii za vernostʹ korone. I v pervyĭ zhe denʹ posle pribytii͡a ego vovlekai͡ut v rassledovanie ubiĭstva, proisshedshego v nʹi͡u-ĭorkskikh trushchobakh. No esli zhiznʹ v ėpokhu peremen stoit tak deshevo, pochemu ėta smertʹ imeet znachenie? Ochevidno, sozdanie nat͡sii - pribylʹnoe delo, i nekotorye li͡udi ne zhelai͡ut upustitʹ vygodu, chego by ėto ni stoilo. . . Delo oslozhni͡aetsi͡a tem, chto ubityĭ byl v chisle nedavnikh postoi͡alʹt͡sev doma, gde ostanovilsi͡a Sėvill, i vladelʹt͡sy - semeĭstvo Vintur - kazhutsi͡a klerku vesʹma podozritelʹnymi. Loi͡alʹnostʹ Britanii stoila im sostoi͡anii͡a; ikh pomestʹe bylo razgrableno, no kapitan Vintur khochet otyskatʹ na ėtikh razvalinakh nechto ochenʹ t͡sennoe, a po nocham v dome slyshen plach rebenka, o kotorom ne zhelai͡ut govoritʹ ni khozi͡aeva, ni slugi. . . Vpervye na russkom!

Andrew Taylor is "one of the best modern authors in the genre of historical detective" (The Times). He has been awarded many literary awards, such as the Diamond Dagger Award of the British Association of Crime Writers, the Golden Crown Award of the Association of Historical Writers, the Barry Award, and the Ellis Peters Prize in Historical Literature in 2013. "Taylor has always been interested in the instability of life and the accompanying truth: if necessary, everything is for sale — truth, honor, love. This is exactly what happens in eighteenth-century New York" (The Guardian). The American War of Independence continues. In August 1778, Manhattan, a British outpost surrounded by rebel forces, resembles a melting pot: it is full of soldiers, refugees, deserters, looters. . . At this difficult time, Edward Saville, a London clerk, comes ashore to deal with the claims of loyalists demanding compensation for loyalty to the crown. And on the very first day after his arrival, he is involved in the investigation of a murder that took place in a New York slum. But if life in an era of change is so cheap, why does this death matter? Obviously, building a nation is a lucrative business, and some people don't want to miss out, no matter what the cost. The case is complicated by the fact that the victim was among the recent guests of the house where Saville was staying, and the owners, the Wintour family, seem very suspicious to the clerk. Their loyalty to Britain cost them a fortune; their estate was plundered, but Captain Wintour wants to find something very valuable in these ruins, and at night a child can be heard crying in the house, which neither the owners nor the servants want to talk about. . . For the first time in Russian!