The Zakhov Mission

''The Zakhov Mission'' ( bg, Случаят в Момчилово, The Momchilovo Affair) is an

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

detective novel by the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n author

Andrei Gulyashki Andrei Stoyanov Gulyashki ( bg, Андрей Стоянов Гуляшки) (May 7, 1914 – June 3, 1995) was a Bulgarian writer best known for the exploits of his character, detective Avakoum Zakhov. Avakoum Zakhov first appeared in a 1959 nove ...

first published in 1959 under the title Контраразузнаване (Counterintelligence). The English translation is by Maurice Michael, published in the UK in 1968 by Cassell, London, and in USA in 1969 by Doubleday, N.Y. (). The protagonist of the novel, Avakum Zakhov, is a Bulgarian counter-espionage operative, who foils a sabotage ploy in a small Bulgarian village close to the southern border (i.e. with Turkey or Greece). Avakum Zakhov was intended as a Bulgarian version of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

: a solitary bachelor, who enjoys the rainy weather, loves to smoke his pipe by the fire, and solves detective mysteries by keen observation and deductive reasoning. The book spawned a series of Zakhov books, which became best-sellers in the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

. The first four books of this series have also been translated into many languages and provided the inspiration for the popular Bulgarian television series ''The Adventures of Avakum Zakhov''. 1959 Bulgarian novels Crime novels Novels set in Bulgaria Cassell (publisher) books {{1950s-crime-novel-stub