A clerk at the State Bank begins to notice that something strange is going on--bank employees are stuffing their pockets with money every day, only to have it taken every evening by the security guards who search the employees and confiscate the cash. But, there's a discrepancy between what is being confiscated and what is being returned to the bank, and our hero is beginning to fear that a secret circulation is developing, one that could undermine the whole economy.

Meanwhile, the clerk and his family begin to keep guinea pigs, and at night, when everyone is asleep, our hero begins to conduct experiments with the pets, teaching them tricks, testing their intelligence and endurance, and using some rather questionable methods to encourage the animals to befriend him.

Ludvi k Vaculi k's The Guinea Pigs is one of the most important literary works of the twentieth century.

A pensive, conscience-stricken man driven to melancholy by the fiendish truths of murder, the Czechoslovak policeman Lieutenant Boruvka is a notable new member of the brilliant-eccentric-detective literary tradition. Twelve bizarre tales--to be read as a continuous account--involve theatrical people, musicians, and mountaineers, who lead the lieutenant, and the reader, on an ingenious chase through the paths of crime.

"A genuinely innovative, brain-teaser of a novel that pokes fun at American pulp fiction. . . . Skvorecky is a skillful writer with an international range." —Publishers Weekly

A clergyman named Ronald A. Knox once set forth a set of rules for writing detective fiction. In ten new stories (two featuring Lieutenant Boruvka), a crime occurs that violates one of Father Knox's rules, thus serving up a double challenge: Who dunnit? and Which rule was broken?

"Ten more mystery stories by the gifted Czech novelist. . . . Offbeat . . . tongue-in-cheek entertainment for aficionados of classic puzzlers in the Ellery Queen tradition—especially those who'll also appreciate Skvorecky's darkish, edgy texture." —Kirkus Reviews

"[Skvorecky] is a magnificent writer and a hilarious observer of human folly. . . . Mystery fans who thrive on puzzles are nicely served. But those who read for style and characterization—and they are legion—are the real winners here." —Katrine Ames, Newsweek