The Twelfth Department

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE TWELFTH DEPARTMENT. Copyright © 2013 by William Ryan. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.minotaurbooks.com

Cover design by James Iacobelli

Cover photographs: sky © Michaela Stejskalova; buildings © E.O./Shutterstock.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Ryan, William, 1965–

The Twelfth Department / William Ryan. — First U.S. edition.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-312-58652-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-250-03205-8 (e-book)

1. Detectives—Russia (Federation)—Moscow—Fiction. 2. Murder—Investigation—Russia (Federation)—Moscow—Fiction. 3. Families—Fiction. 4. Soviet Union—Politics and government—1936–1953—Fiction. I. Title.

PR6118.Y37T84 2013

823’.92—dc23

2013011923

e-ISBN 9781250032058

First published 2013 by Mantle, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

First U.S. Edition: July 2013