A summary of "The Blonde Trap" by Elena Topilskaya

"Blonde Trap" is a 2003 detective novel written by St. Petersburg prosecutor and writer Elena Valentinovna Topilskaya. The protagonist, investigator Masha Shvetsova, investigates a series of mysterious attacks on young, fair-haired men in the entryways of St. Petersburg buildings. Topilskaya herself worked for many years in the city prosecutor’s office, which lends the book’s investigative setting a genuine authenticity: details of interrogations, examinations, and interactions with experts are conveyed from the inside, without artistic exaggeration.

The book is part of a vast series of novels about investigator Maria Shvetsova, also known to readers under the collective title "Secrets of the Investigation"; a television series of the same name was based on the series. "Trap for Blondes" is considered the first book in the series.

Masha Shvetsova and her investigation

The novel begins with investigator Masha Shvetsova riding home on a crowded tram, carrying a piece of evidence — a Brazilian Taurus pistol — in her bag. Her colleague and best friend, Alexei Gorchakov, is waiting for her at the exit: another victim with a traumatic brain injury has been discovered in one of the city’s building entrances.

By this point, Masha had already accumulated four similar cases: in all cases, the victims were young, blond men around thirty, neatly dressed — nothing was stolen, but their pants were unbuttoned. Two of the previous victims had died by then, and one was in critical condition. Homicide chief Kostik Migulko gently dissuaded Masha from officially announcing the series, lest she attract higher-ups, but she continued to informally gather information on all the cases.

Viktor Korostelev and the Strange Interrogation

The new victim is identified by a stroke of luck: his wife, walking home from the store, saw a crowd of curious onlookers and identified her husband. He turned out to be a certain Viktor Korostelev. Masha goes to the scene with detective Sergei Kuzherov, inspects the entrance, conducts a simple investigative experiment, and concludes that the attacker followed the victim in from the street and immediately struck.

At the hospital, Masha finds Korostelev’s young wife, Olga Vasilyevna, at his bedside — red-haired, tear-stained, but meticulously made up. When Masha finally manages to speak with the awakened patient, he reveals something unexpected: he doesn’t remember his name, doesn’t remember his wife, and — most notably — claims that he’s never been married. The doctor attributes this to retrograde amnesia, but the investigator remembers the patient’s remark.

A parallel case: murder near a bakery

The next day, the investigation into the series of attacks unexpectedly takes a back seat: right before the eyes of three homicide detectives out for lunch, an unknown young man shoots the owner of a jeep at the entrance to a bakery and walks away. The detectives catch up with him and detain him in a vacant lot. The identity of the victim is established from the documents from the car – a certain Belotserkovsky. The arrested killer refuses to identify himself; the investigation is unable to establish either his first or last name.

Masha takes on the case. Forensic scientist Gena Fedorchuk, working with Stetsenko, collects fingerprints and conducts fingerprint analysis; the forensic data is sent to the information center. Meanwhile, Masha and Gena tour the entryways where the blondes were previously attacked, and discover a fresh right palm print on the wall of one of them.

Korostelev is not Korostelev

Gradually, the investigation reveals that "Viktor Korostelev" is a fictitious figure. The real Korostelev — a former convict who murdered his wife and daughter — staged his own death while still in prison by getting a cellmate drunk, dressing in his clothes, and bribing those who could identify the body. The woman claiming to be his wife, Olga Vasilyevna, is actually Olga Krotova, a longtime accomplice of Korostelev. It was she who took the coffin containing the body of the fake "deceased" to the Ivanovo region and arranged for the fugitive to assume a false identity.

Krotova played the role of a grief-stricken wife at the wounded man’s bedside: she didn’t leave his side, refusing to let staff or investigators in. Masha guesses that Krotova’s true goal is to avoid visiting the patient, rather than allowing him to talk, as the victim might expose her deception.

Krotova’s arrest and final interrogation

Investigators track Krotova to an abandoned country house where Korostelev and his first family once lived. Masha and Gena go inside, while Kruzherov remains at the porch. Olga tries to escape through the door, but ends up right in Kuzherov’s arms. Olga’s mother, who was sleeping on the second floor, is also detained.

During interrogation, Krotova behaves unexpectedly: calmly, with a slight smile, she declares herself ready to tell everything without reserve. She portrays herself as a victim — a naive girl "hypnotized" by the terrifying Korostelev. According to her version, she acted entirely under duress, out of mortal fear of him. Finally, she describes how Korostelev, returning with his legs in plaster, attacked her with a kitchen knife, and in the struggle, he impaled himself on the blade.

Masha, however, already knows: the wound on Korostelev’s body points downwards, indicating that the person who struck him was standing over the victim. The theory of an accidental wound during a struggle falls apart. It becomes clear: Krotova deliberately killed the immobilized, helpless Korostelev when he became a burden to her. The testimony was recorded on video — and this footage will work against her.