"How to Become a Villain in Gaben" by Vladimir Torin, summary

This book is an ironic detective story set in a dark, mechanical city, published in 2022. The author masterfully weaves absurd situations with serious investigations of corporate crimes. Here, humans coexist with automatons. Urban legends become frightening realities.

This novel is part of the "…from Gabin" series. This series includes "And the Light Goes Out," "My Post-Imago," "Of Noses and Locks," and "The Mystery of 12 Rue Florette." This novel is the tenth in the series.

Loneliness and the Snow Spy

New Year’s Eve in Tremple Tall brings little joy to lonely and eccentric Zoe Grimm. She spends her days sitting in her cold apartment on Dusty Square. Snow falls outside. Suddenly, Zoe spots a suspicious snowman near the tram station. The snowman is smoking a bent cigarette and brazenly staring out her window. Zoe goes to a café for a creamy coffee. Along the way, she notices a book in the display case, "The Misadventures of Mr. Peabody the Snowman," by Nanby Biltry. The snowman is pictured on the cover.

Zoe buys a book and reads it in a café. In the text, she discovers a way to control a snowman. To do this, she needs a glass snow globe. Soon, the girl enters Mr. Tobbson’s shop. He sells such globes. The shopkeeper turns out to be a cruel miser, tormenting his poor customers. Suddenly, two robbers in velvet masks burst into the shop. They deftly take Tobbson’s goods. The robbers want to distribute the globes to children in poor areas. Taking advantage of the confusion, Zoe steals one of the snow globes.

The Birth of a New Villainess

Returning home, Zoe receives a package in the mail from Scarecrows. Inside, instead of the blanket she ordered, there’s only a taunting note. The scammers have tricked the girl. This is the last straw. Zoe Grimm decides to become a true villain. She intends to take revenge on the entire town for ruining the holiday. She dons striped stockings and a red cape. She applies soot eyeliner. Stepping outside, she shows the snowman the stolen globe. The snowman obeys her. Zoe names him Mr. Peabody.

The newly minted villain begins a series of daring crimes. Together with Mr. Peabody, they break into the elite "Blumm’s Pocket Watch Salon." A snowman throws an expensive watch into a sack. Zoe places a pot-bellied teapot on the counter. She threatens the shopkeeper that it’s a bomb. Having taken their loot, the robbers escape. The teapot boils. A toy Krampus jumps out. Soon, a hurtful article appears in the newspaper "Gossip." Reporter Benny Trilby ridicules Zoe, dismissing her crimes as empty words. Enraged, Zoe breaks into the newspaper’s office. She leaves a snow bomb under the reporter’s desk. The explosion showers the room with white flakes.

The Secret of the Gift Thief

Meanwhile, journalist Polly Trick investigates strange thefts. She secretly operates under the guise of the Tooth Fairy. The Tooth Fairy is a masked urban vigilante. Wealthy families are having expensive Christmas presents disappear. Children claim the items are being taken by a horned monster with dog-like fangs, leaving behind piles of coal. Polly uncovers clues. The culprit is using climbing equipment and disguising himself as the mythical Krampus.

Polly’s trail leads her to a woodcarver’s apartment. The craftsman makes terrifying toys. He punishes naughty children in a special boarding school. He’s taking revenge on the owner of the toy shop for refusing to sell his wares. In his home, Polly finds a manuscript by Professor Grimm, Zoe’s father. Studying the documents, the journalist discovers a secret office code. This code leads her to a series of obituaries in old issues of "Gossip." Polly is horrified to realize the terrible truth: numerous accidents in recent years have been disguised murders.

The Rigsberg Bank’s Blood Loans

The threads of the conspiracy lead to the murky Rigsberg Bank. A quiet clerk, Robert Tomms, works in the Robbery Department. The department’s head, the despotic Bartholomeus Vydri, tasks Tomms with finding six new debtors. The bank drives people into hopeless debt. If anyone can help a debtor escape, the bank eliminates that savior. The analytical machine "Gromdling" identifies threats. Hired agents arrange fatal accidents for the victims.

Robert Thomps realizes his complicity in mass murder. He decides to commit suicide. A clerk hangs himself in the living room. Suddenly, the Tooth Fairy enters his apartment. She interrogates Thomps about bank secrets. Zoe Grimm soon appears. The villain convinces the clerk not to kill himself. She offers to help him destroy the debtors’ files. Thomps agrees. Together, they devise a plan to raid the bank.

Krampus’s Bag

In Tremple Tall, there’s a legend about the Man in Red. Behind this fabulous gift-giver lies the brilliant manipulator Mr. Bloch. He has organized a complex network of letters collected from the townspeople, thus uncovering their secrets. Bloch and journalist Benny Trilby secretly manipulate Zoe Grimm’s actions. They encourage her to rob a bank. Bloch’s target is hidden in the vault: he wants to find a hidden book containing the names of all the people murdered by the bank.

Zoe Grimm’s plan reaches its climax. She bursts into the Rigsberg Bank lobby with the snowmen. A battle ensues. The security guard automatons fire brass grapples. The snowmen fight back with canes. They throw Christmas tree ornaments filled with glue. Zoe launches fireworks toward the ceiling. The senior clerk activates the armored shields. The bank turns into a steel trap. The snowmen freeze the doors with ice bombs.

Polly Trick solves the riddles Zoe left behind. She flies to the bank on mechanical wings and enters through a round window. The Tooth Fairy enters the fray. The Avenger breaks the automatons’ legs with a special baton. Polly’s wings are damaged by a snowball thrown by Zoe. The Tooth Fairy falls onto a table but quickly rises. She corners Zoe and demands her surrender. Zoe throws poisonous powder in Polly’s face.

Suddenly, the real Krampus appears in the lobby. The ancient spirit of winter was deceived by the bank’s founder, Cecil Rigsberg, many years ago. The banker stole Krampus’s magical fur coat and forced the spirit to work as a simple tutor. Krampus bursts into Bartholomeus Otter’s office, takes his coat, and throws the boss out the window. The spirit then descends into the lobby, knocks out the Tooth Fairy, and carries her off into the forest in a sack.

Mr. Thomps descends into the secret vault. He is assisted by the doll Howard Beck. He was hiding inside Mr. Peabody’s snowman. Howard carries out six heavy bags of money. Thomps sets fire to the debtors’ filing cabinet. Thousands of promissory notes turn to ashes. People are freed from the bank’s oppression. The snowmen load the money into a stolen Aerocab. Zoe and Howard flee the crime scene.

Polly Trick wakes up in the woods. Zoe’s powder is causing her to have powerful hallucinations. The journalist sees dead friends and bloodthirsty wolves. Krampus explains to Polly the nature of her visions. These nightmares are merely the product of her own guilt. The Tooth Fairy pulls herself together. She uses the flamethrower in her backpack, melts through the invisible wall of darkness, and returns to the city.

Revealing secrets

Zoe Grimm’s Aerocab lands in a secret hangar. There, the villain is met by Benny Trilby and Mr. Bloch. They reveal the truth to Zoe. A journalist wrote a book about a snowman. He did it to set the girl on the right path. Bloch used Zoe to destroy the bank. They were taking revenge on the Rigsbergs for the death of Zoe’s father and for press censorship. The Tooth Fairy appears with pistols. Bloch gives Polly the stolen Rigsberg diary. This small book contains the names of all the bank’s victims.

Benny Trilby returns to the ruined editorial office to write a sensational article. He promises not to steal Polly’s copy anymore. The New Year dawns in town. Robert Thomms finds peace. He knows his debtors are free. Little Tilly Berrick, saved from a monster, reunites with her parents at Dr. Doe’s house. The truth about the Rigsbergs’ crimes is revealed. The bank is destroyed. Zoe Grimm escapes in an Aerocab, ready for new adventures. Polly Trick overcomes her fear. She knocks on Dr. Doe’s door and celebrates the holidays with her loved ones.