Purchase

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

Indie BookShop

Ripped Bodice

Add to Wish List

Also by Andrey Kurkov:

The Lost Soldiers, June 2026
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
The Stolen Heart, May 2025
Hardcover / e-Book
Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv, August 2024
Paperback / e-Book
The Case of the General's Thumb, March 2012
Hardcover / e-Book
Penquin Lost, October 2011
Paperback / e-Book
Death and the Penguin, June 2011
Paperback

DEATH AND THE PENGUIN
By: Andrey Kurkov

Melville House Publishing
June 2011
On Sale: June 7, 2011
240 pages
ISBN: 1935554557
EAN: 9781935554554
Paperback
Add to Wish List

Mystery | Suspense

In the widely hailed prequel to Penguin Lost, aspiring writer Viktor Zolotaryov leads a down-and-out life in poverty-and-violence-wracked Kiev—he’s out of work and his only friend is a penguin, Misha, that he rescued when the local zoo started getting rid of animals. Even more nerve-wracking: a local mobster has taken a shine to Misha and wants to keep borrowing him for events.

But Viktor thinks he’s finally caught a break when he lands a well-paying job at the Kiev newspaper writing “living obituaries” of local dignitaries—articles to be filed for use when the time comes. The only thing is, it seems the time always comes as soon as Viktor writes the article. Slowly understanding that his own life may be in jeopardy, Viktor also realizes that the only thing that might be keeping him alive is his penguin.

Media Buzz

Fresh Air - NPR - April 24, 2012