In a post-Soviet publishing industry flooded with action novels, mysteries, sword-and-sorcery epic fantasies, and translations of the latest Western thrillers, Aleksandra Marinina was the undisputed champion of the Russian best-seller lists throughout the second half of the 1990s. Her mystery novels, most of which follow the exploits of the decidedly unadventurous Moscow police detective Anastasiia Pavlovna (Nastia) Kamenskaia, have a broad appeal among the Russian reading audience, largely transcending the categories of class, gender, and education. On its own, her popularity among the Russian reading public throughout the former Soviet Union would make Marinina's work significant for contemporary Russian literary culture, but the importance of her novels lies as much in their themes and preoccupations as in their marketplace success. Marinina's mysteries are often self-conscious reflections on the contemporary Russian literary market and the importance of professionalism and systematization, while the twists and turns of her plots betray...