A Gentle Axe by R.N. Morris

This is a fascinating novel set in St Petersburg in 1866 and follows an investigation into a double murder by Porfiry Petrovich, the detective who brought to justice Rodion Raskolnikov in the novel Crime and Punishment. In the winter of 1866 an old woman collecting firewood in Petrovsky Park comes across two bodies, a large man hanging from a tree and a dwarf packed into a suitcase. She robs the corpses and departs. Later the killings are reported and the case handed to Porfiry Petrovich of the Department of the Investigation of Criminal Causes. Porfiry is at odds with his superiors and his colleagues (which fictional detective is not?) nevertheless he doggedly pursues the case until he arrives at a satisfying conclusion. Morris has written a very entertaining novel with a unique atmosphere that kept this reader enthralled. As to whether his depiction of Porfiry Petrovich tallies with that of the original I could not comment as I have not read Crime and Punishment. I find it all too easy to become depressed without reading nineteenth century Russian novels.