Kviv 1919. After the Soviet Revolution, Kviv is a dangerous, unpredictable place to be. The Stolen Heart, second of the Kyiv Mysteries by Andrey Kurkov, tells the story of inexperienced policeman Samson Kolechko as he gets to grip with solving crimes in an eccentric, illogical and obsessive authoritarian Soviet system. 
Samson is a bright, gentle young man, eager to uphold the law to the best of his ability. Unfortunately the law is changing all the time and his boss expects results almost instantly. Samson is ordered, with his ex-priest colleague Kholodny, to investigate a murder. When it turns out it was the slaughter of a pig, Samson’s boss Nayden orders him instead to investigate the illegal sale of the meat, a new offence that most people seem unaware of. The distributor is arrested and questioned – Samson and Kholodny have recently been on a course in interrogation techniques – but no information is forthcoming. Samson hits on the idea of using a butcher’s picture of a pig cross-section. He asks the suspect Briskin to write the name on the diagram of each customer next to the cut of meat they bought. Samson then interviews all suspects – it is a crime to buy the meat, as well as sell it – and takes thorough notes.
Kurkov has great fun ridiculing this new law, the ExProFooCom directive banning private trade in meat. The law is confusing, the rules are confusing, but then most things in Kviv are. Soviet rule has brought chaos not order. Alongside Samson’s meat investigations, Kurkov shows us daily life in Kviv, the daily struggle to exist in a most basic manner, the Red Army soldiers, the Chinese soldiers, and the humanity of ordinary citizens doing their best to survive without attracting attention to themselves. As well as the meat case [meat being the prime cuts of the pig but not the fat, intestines or heart], there’s a tram accident, the police station has a mysterious thief and odd things have gone missing.
There are continuing characters and themes from the first book, The Silver Bone, and the same black humour. In fact The Stolen Heart feels like a direct continuation of that story, without pause. Samson’s ear [you have to read the first book to appreciate the significance of this] conveniently overhears chatter suggesting Samson may be under observation. We also see Samson’s developing romance with his flatmate Nadezhda, heightened when Nadezhda, a statistician, is kidnapped while undertaking a census of railway workers. There is a frightening Cheka officer, the return of the now homeless eye doctor, a helpful Chinese soldier who speaks no Ukrainian, and Samson’s landlady who always has a glass of liquor on hand.
Perplexing, touching, often funny, before you read The Stolen Heart please read The Silver Bone to make the most of the Kviv experience. Next in the series is The Lost Soldiers. Strange, fascinating, often bewildering, sometimes slow but different from anything I’ve read before.
Here’s my review of the first book in this series:-
THE SILVER BONE #1KYIVMYSTERIES
If you like this, try:-
‘Smoke and Ashes’ by Abir Mukherjee #3WYNDHAM&BANERJEE
‘The Mouthless Dead’ by Anthony Quinn
‘Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel’ by Lucy Foley #1MARPLE
And if you’d like to share a link:
#BookReview THE STOLEN HEART by Andrey Kurkov https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-ask via @SandraDanby
COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- 
