A summary of "The Lover of Death" by Boris Akunin

This book is a historical detective story about a street kid growing up in the underworld of Moscow. Published in 2001, the novel depicts life in the criminal Khitrovka district of the late nineteenth century through the lens of a young protagonist whose fate unexpectedly intertwines with the search for an ancient silver treasure. The story seamlessly complements the renowned literary series "The Adventures of Erast Fandorin." The book is the ninth installment in a comprehensive series, which includes such well-known works as "Azazel," "The Turkish Gambit," "The Death of Achilles," "Special Assignments," and "The Decorator."

Life on Khitrovka and the fatal maiden

Teenager Senka Skorik escapes from his cruel uncle, Zot Larionovich. He ends up at Khitrovsky Market, where he falls in with petty thieves Prokha and Mikheika Filin. Skorik quickly masters the trade of pickpocket and makes a friend, Tashka. Soon, he sees a dazzlingly beautiful woman. The slum dwellers call her Death. The nickname is not without reason: all her lovers have died suddenly.

A femme fatale is in the employ of Moscow’s most successful robber, nicknamed Prince. Senka lets a ray of sunlight into Death’s window. She notices the teenager and invites him into the house. The woman gives Skorik a task: to go get white powder from Prince’s henchman, a man nicknamed Ochko. The boy successfully carries out the request. In exchange, he asks for a good word with the gang leader. Death writes a note to Prince. The leader accepts Senka into his deck, playing the lowest rank, as a six.

That same day, the gang heads to Luzhniki. There, a gang clashes with a rival group of milkers, extorting money from shopkeepers. The milkers’ leader is the wily Ghoul. During the fight, Skorik grabs a rifleman from the enemy camp by the ear. The boy helps his men defeat the enemies. The Ghoul is defeated and acknowledges the Prince’s supremacy.

A bloody raid and a gruesome discovery

Senka’s luck takes flight. The boy, along with Prince and Ochko, sets out on a real mission. Bandits are robbing a wealthy Kalmyk huckster in a hotel room. Seeking to curry favor, Skorik points to a hiding place in the floor. It contains a huge amount of money. However, Ochko, high on cocaine, suddenly stabs his victims. Prince praises Senka for his attentiveness, but the teenager is left in profound shock.

Senka flees in terror. The boy finds refuge with Death. That night, the enraged Prince appears. Skorik hides in the outhouse and then climbs out the window. The teenager returns and overhears a conversation: Death orders Skorik to warn the scribe Sinyukhin of danger. The Prince intends to torture Sinyukhin to reveal the secret of the ancient treasure.

Senka hurries to the cellars of the Yeroshenkovskaya flophouse. Along the way, he hides from a short Japanese man named Masa. Skorik recently stole green jade beads from a servant. In the dungeon, the boy finds Sinyukhin and his family murdered. The criminal gouged out the victims’ eyes. The dying scribbler whispers, "There’s a secret passage." The man manages to tell Senka the secret of the hiding place behind a brick column.

Skorik sneaks into a secret chamber. The boy finds piles of tarnished silver rods and ancient coins. Senka takes several scales and one rod, which he sells to the jeweler Samshitov for four hundred rubles.

The suddenly wealthy teenager rents an expensive hotel room. Senka hires a student, Georges, to teach him polite manners, penmanship, and French. Skorik attends ballet performances and buys dandy suits. He strives with all his might to become a cultured man worthy of the love of a beautiful woman. However, the social life quickly empties the former street kid’s pockets.

Erast Fandorin’s Intervention

Skorik goes to visit his younger brother Vanyusha, who lives with Justice of the Peace Kuvshinnikov. The judge uses reference books to determine the true value of the silver rod. It turns out to be a unique seventeenth-century blank from the Yauza Mint. Kuvshinnikov advises surrendering the treasure to the state. Meanwhile, new atrocities occur in Khitrovka. The jeweler Samshitov is murdered. Senka’s friend Tashka is tortured to death: the killer was trying to force Skorik’s whereabouts out of her.

Mr. Erast Petrovich Nameless, Masa’s master, finds Senka. The engineer takes the young man under his wing. Erast Petrovich assigns his Japanese servant to watch over Senka. The Japanese man teaches the teenager the basics of martial arts and shares his philosophy of life. Masa teaches the young man the rules of dealing with women. These lessons help Senka rethink his feelings for Death. Skorik begins to understand the difference between true love and base passion.

Later, Erast Petrovich teaches the teenager to drive a three-wheeled motorized vehicle called the "Magic Carpet." The vehicle is being prepared for an international run all the way to Paris. Nameless analyzes the maniac’s motives. The engineer deduces that an unknown villain is methodically eliminating everyone who knows about the silver. The criminal is tracking Senka.

To lure out the Treasure Hunter, the engineer uses Death. The girl agrees to deliver notes to Senka, disguised as a beggar. It turns out the bandit Prokha is spying on the house. Skorik tries to subdue his former comrade. The young man wants to find out the identity of the person ordering the surveillance. But in the Yerokhin dungeon, a mysterious killer catches up with Prokha and cold-bloodedly snaps his neck. Senka barely escapes.

After what happened, Erast Petrovich devises a new cunning plan. The engineer disguises himself as the elderly Jew Naum Rubinchik. Together with the disguised Skorik, they go to the Vampire on behalf of the local community. Disguised as Nameless, he promises the milker untold riches and arranges a meeting in the Yerokhin cellars. The greedy Vampire believes the fabricated story.

Then Erast Petrovich transforms into the highlander Kazbek. He visits the Prince in his thieves’ quarters. The supposed Caucasian offers to exchange Death for the secret of the Yerokhin treasure. The Prince swears his word as a thief to return to the hiding place that night. The meeting is scheduled for the same time as the Vampire’s.

The denouement in the dungeon

Senka brings a letter from Fandorin to the corrupt police officer Solntsev. Erast Petrovich calls the colonel to arrest the leaders of the Khitrov gangs. That night, Skorik takes the Vampire to a secret room with silver bars. Soon, the Prince, Ochko, and Death itself arrive through the underground passage. The bandits discover the deception and are ready to tear each other’s throats.

Fandorin, the police officer Solntsev, and the policeman Budochnik suddenly appear. Erast Petrovich steps forward unarmed. The engineer brilliantly lays out a chain of conclusions to the assembled group. The main villain and murderer turns out to be the old policeman Budochnik. It was he, possessing remarkable physical strength, who snapped the necks of his victims and gouged out their eyes.

The policeman wanted to seize the silver to buy the favor of the beautiful Death. Upon hearing the accusations, police chief Solntsev panics. The policeman knocks the revolvers out of the bailiff’s hands. The lucky ones grab knives and brass knuckles. A brutal fight ensues.

Death grabs the fallen pistol. She tries to protect Erast Petrovich, but the bailiff stabs her. Masa bursts out of the rubble. The Vampire and the Prince kill each other in a fierce hand-to-hand fight. The guard is felled by Fandorin’s signature blow to the neck. A well-aimed Japanese star puts an end to Ochko’s life.

The wounded Death bleeds out. She confesses to Erast Petrovich: "I deliberately exposed myself so that you would live." The girl asks the engineer not to blame himself, saving him from his own fatal curse. An hour later, the beauty closes her eyes forever, holding the hand of her beloved. The police collect the bodies of the slain bandits and the dishonest bailiff.

The next day, Fandorin and Skorik set off on a car rally. During a breakdown near Vyazma, Senka buys a fresh newspaper. Reporters attribute the success of the operation solely to the valiant Moscow police. The article mentions an honest young man, Semyon Skorikov, who voluntarily handed over a huge ancient treasure to his native country.