Take one remote mountain inn in an unnamed country, add a ghost, an assortment of eccentric guests which of course includes a police inspector,  throw in a locked-room murder and you have a recipe for the classic murder mystery.  Include a touch of surrealism and you have this weird, wacky spoof that left me a bit dizzy.

Arkady (1925-1991) and Boris Strugatsky (1933-2012) were acclaimed science fictions writers in the Soviet Union. This little book has only recently been translated.  It is totally irreverent and a lot of fun.  Not at all what I would expect from the Russians.

eGalley review           Publication date 3.3.15