Yulia Yakovleva's thrilling debut was a bestseller in her native Russia. It's not difficult to see why - The Times, Best New Crime Fiction

A masterclass in historical crime fiction set against the vividly-painted backdrop of 1930s Leningrad. It will pull you in and leave you breathless -- Chris Lloyd, author of The Unwanted Dead

A serial killer is at work in 1930s Leningrad. Favourite line: "This is how we live, he thought. She's lying and so am I." - Sunday Times Crime Club, Pick of the Week

...a fascinating story... Beautifully translated... Punishment of a Hunter establishes Yulia Yakovleva as a talent to watch - Irish Times

Gritty and gripping, Punishment of a Hunter is top class historical crime fiction -- Will Ryan, author of The Holy Thief

This is the most successful reload of the retro-detective genre in Russian fiction since Akunin. - literratura

Yulia Yakovleva leads the hero (as well as the reader) through every circle of Soviet hell, to a bright finale that offers both satisfaction from how the plot wraps up as well as the suggestion of an opening for a sequel. - Medusa.io

Yakovleva writes with an expert and deep knowledge of the period, and she simply writes well. - Gorky

Yakovleva's unobtrusive art edutainment, which introduces paintings of Botticelli, Velazquez, Van Dyck, and Rubens, is one of the true pleasures this novel offers... For Yakovleva, it is more important to understand not how the crimes were performed, but why. The author is interested first and foremost in the mechanism of how the large state evil gives birth to a private, small evil. - Fontanka

The novel's main hero is the time period, a time marked by Petersburg's impotency and beauty, steel and blood - chaskor.ru

'There are fantastic comic elements to this dark novel of life under dictatorship in Stalin's Russia... On a more serious note, this story exudes the sinister atmosphere of the time, the insecurity and lack of freedom ordinary people faced.... [It's] well plotted and with intriguing characters' - NB Magazine

Yulia Yakovleva is a writer, theatre and ballet critic, and playwright. She is particularly known for two types of historical fiction set in Stalin-era Leningrad: the award-winning children’s chapter book series The Leningrad Tales that confront Soviet history, and the thrilling new series of detective novels about Leningrad police investigator Vasily Zaitsev. Yakovleva received her MA from School of Creative Arts of the University of Hertfordshire. She lives in Oslo, Norway, with her husband and son.

Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp translates literature from Arabic, German and Russian into English. Her work has been shortlisted for many prestigious prizes including the Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize.