Privezentsev Library
The Smoke Merchant
Read sample
Genre
Detective
Year
2024
chapters
25
Languages
EN, RU

a historical detective novel

The Smoke Merchant

Maxim Privezentsev

About the book

The history of tobacco, told through the tangled relationship of Albrecht Dürer and Christopher Columbus, is woven into a detective plot set in Nicaragua, 2024, during the thirteenth wave of the pandemic — as a nightmarish past catches up with the Spanish cigar seller Luis Sánchez.

Who it's for

For lovers of the historical detective novel with a double bottom.

Contents

  1. 01PrologueFree sample
  2. 02Chapter 01. One Day in the Life of Luis Sanchez
  3. 03Chapter 02. Columbus's Request
  4. 04Chapter 03. Spain. Luis and Evita
  5. 05Chapter 04. The First Meeting of Columbus and Dürer
  6. 06Chapter 05. An Old Acquaintance
  7. 07Chapter 06. The Admiral's Smoke
  8. 08Chapter 07. Just Friends
  9. 09Chapter 08. The Case Is Toast
  10. 10Chapter 09. The Floor Is Lava
  11. 11Chapter 10. Melancholy
  12. 12Chapter 11. A Smoky Date
  13. 13Chapter 12. A Profitable Exchange
  14. 14Chapter 13. Dinner for Three
  15. 15Chapter 14. The Seed of Discord
  16. 16Chapter 15. Memory Diary
  17. 17Chapter 16. The Quarrel
  18. 18Chapter 17. The Broken Mirror
  19. 19Chapter 18. The Unique Art
  20. 20Chapter 19. Waking Nightmare
  21. 21Chapter 20. Forgery
  22. 22Chapter 21. Interrogation
  23. 23Chapter 22. Melancholy Forever
  24. 24Chapter 23. The Execution
  25. 25Epilogue

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