Summary of "Muses of the Rainy Park" by Tatyana Korsakova

This mystical detective novel was published in 2012. This book is a dark story about the inhabitants of an ancient estate and their retribution for long-standing sins. The plot revolves around the investigation of a series of unexplained deaths within a single family. The author seamlessly interweaves detective intrigue with supernatural phenomena.

Visit to the club

Marta, a young woman, arrives at a country nightclub. She’s tasked with finding a man nicknamed the Pied Piper. Marta’s overbearing grandmother, Nata Strelnikova, demands that a specialist be hired to investigate. The Pied Piper, whose real name is Arseniy, possesses the gift of psychic ability. He acquired the ability to see auras and ghosts after a traumatic brain injury. Marta and her brother, Max, accidentally hit a young man while base jumping five years ago. The family covered up the crime, and Marta believed the young man dead.

At the clinic, Arseniy met a girl named Selena. The doctor, with different-colored eyes, could heal severe wounds with just her hands. It was she who helped the young man recover from a long coma. At the hospital, the young man first saw the ghost of an old book collector. The dead man asked him to sell a rare volume. The proceeds went toward Arseniy’s treatment. At the cemetery, the medium rescued a puppy, whom he named Grim. The dog turned out to be a guide to the world of the dead. He could ward off aggressive spirits. Later, the old woman-ghost gave Arseniy an antique flute.

Arseniy agrees to come to the Parnas estate. Nata uses a wheelchair. She is convinced that her relatives are being killed by the spirit of her late husband. The brilliant sculptor Savva Strelnikov created statues of his wives. He called them his muses. The park pavilion contains eight marble sculptures. The women died one after another under mysterious circumstances. Nata herself miraculously survived a fall down the stairs, but suffered a serious spinal injury.

The sculptor’s first victims

Savva’s true story later emerges. A series of diary entries by the sculptor reveal a horrific truth. The artist deliberately drove his wives to their deaths. Death gave him a unique creative energy. He killed for inspiration. His first victim was the quiet Amélie in Paris. Savva traded her for the passionate Adéle. Later, he caught Adéle with a lover. The deceived husband stabbed his unfaithful wife to death and fled to revolutionary Russia.

In Moscow, the sculptor found a new muse named Praskovia. Over time, her energy waned. Savva drove the aging woman to suicide. A young ballerina, Anna, took her place. During the war, she died at the front. The sculptor prepared a marble replica of her in advance. Then came Sofia, who became his fifth muse. This energetic woman irritated Savva, and he cold-bloodedly pushed her down a high staircase. His sixth wife, Nina, gave birth to a daughter, Svetlana, but soon died of a strange illness.

Lala’s penultimate wife attempted to poison the tyrant. Savva replaced the poisoned coffee. The poisoner died. The sculptor walled up the corpse within the pavilion’s central column. Later, a marble Melpomene was born. Nata became the eighth wife. The clever woman unraveled her husband’s secret. She poisoned Savva with the remnants of Lala’s poison. The sculptor died at the feet of the unfinished statue of Urania.

The estate’s second secret concerns the gardener, Akim. The old man turns out to be Nata’s first husband. Savva Strelnikov falsely accused him of being a beautiful woman. Akim served twenty years in the camps. He later returned disguised as a gardener. It was he who helped Nata cover up Savva’s murder. Akim guarded the peace of his beloved Natalya until her last days.

Division of property

Arseniy explores the estate grounds with his faithful dog, Grim. The enormous black dog is acutely aware of the presence of otherworldly forces. In the pavilion, the medium discovers empty pedestals and a strange aura around the marble faces. He does not find Savva’s ghost. Shortly after the medium’s visit, Nata dies suddenly. The autopsy ruled her death a natural death, from cardiac arrest.

A notary arrives at the estate to read the will. The family awaits the division of the property. Grandchildren Ilya, Anastasia, Vera, Eduard, and Marta are present. To the relatives’ surprise, the lion’s share of the inheritance goes to Marta. Management of Savva Strelnikov’s wealthy foundation passes into Arseny’s hands. The relatives are furious. The siblings openly express their hatred for the lucky heirs.

Anastasia dreamed of moving to Paris. Ilya planned to become head of the foundation’s board of trustees. Verochka spent her grandmother’s money recklessly. Eduard secretly dealt drugs. The relatives hated each other, but skillfully concealed their vices behind a mask of propriety. Nata knew of all the sins of her descendants. The elderly woman deliberately rewrote her will to pit her heirs against each other. She entrusted the foundation’s management to a stranger to protect her inheritance from greedy relatives.

That night, Marta goes down to the wine cellar. Someone slams the heavy metal door from outside. The temperature inside plummets below zero degrees Celsius. She braces herself for certain death from hypothermia. Her dog, Grim, senses trouble and leads Arseny to the locked door. The young man picks the lock. He warms the frozen Marta with his own body heat. She survives.

Marta was tormented by guilt. Every day she thought of the young man killed by parachute. She had no idea that Pied Piper was the same man. Arseniy had undergone laser correction, removing the deep scars from his face. Yellow glasses helped him muffle the visions of the dead. Learning the truth from a psychic friend, Marta felt a tremendous relief. She confessed to Arseniy her involvement in the accident. He generously forgave her, letting go of the old grudge.

Investigation of a Medium

Arseny realizes a calculating killer is operating on the estate. He assigns his friend, Baldy, to secretly guard Marta. The medium himself begins to investigate the family’s past. He enters the gardener Akim’s house. Books on the occult line the shelves, and a sketchbook is hidden in a desk drawer. He finds Savva Strelnikov’s wooden box containing the personal belongings of the dead muses.

Arseniy puts the facts together and comes to a terrifying conclusion. The ghost of the walled-up Melpomene has learned to leave the pavilion. The evil spirit has mastered the art of subjugating others’ wills. Melpomene possessed the bodies of the estate’s inhabitants. It was she who committed the murders, using relatives’ hands. Eduard sabotaged the brakes on Marta’s car. Marta, under the spirit’s control, pushed her grandmother down the stairs. Anastasia locked her sister in the ice cellar.

The spirit took revenge on Nata for its death. The ghost forced Max to commit suicide. Later, Ilya, controlled by the spirit, orchestrated Eduard’s car accident. The estate’s inhabitants became puppets in the dead woman’s hands. That night, Marta and Arseny come to the park pavilion. The girl’s expression suddenly changes. Melpomene takes control of her mind. The evil entity confesses to a series of organized crimes. It turns out Vera put poison in Nata’s tea. The spirit wants to destroy Arseny. The dog Grim blocks the frenzied woman’s path.

Fire purification

Arseny begins playing the flute. The melody displaces Melpomene from Martha’s body. At that moment, the spirit pushes her to the edge of the observation deck. Martha falls. Arseny manages to grab her hand. He hangs over the abyss, holding on to Martha with the last of his strength. His grip weakens, and the fall seems inevitable.

A bright fire flares up below. Akim smashes a stone column with a hammer. The gardener throws Melpomene’s remains into the fire. The cursed objects of the dead muses also fly into the flames. The purifying flame destroys the evil spirit forever. The old man climbs to the observation deck. Akim helps Arseny pull Marta to safety. While saving the young people, the gardener dies of cardiac arrest.

Liberation

Several months pass. Marta and Arseniy renounce their bloody inheritance in favor of other relatives. Their vast fortune brings them no happiness. The young couple live in the psychic’s modest country house. On New Year’s Eve, Nata’s ghost appears in the room. Her grandmother leaves Marta a farewell letter. Natalya’s soul finds long-awaited peace. The muses leave the rainy park forever.