In this article the author discusses the “new detective novels” of Boris Akunin. It is demonstrated that, thanks to Akuninʼs artful construction of mysteries, he occupies a special place in Russian literature of the nineties and the first decade of the 21st century, which is largely characterized by weak or almost absent plot. The process of transfer which the detective undergoes in gathering knowledge and solving the mystery does not merely serve to unmask the guilty character but also to solve the problem of human identity.