The Petrov Case is a mystery fiction

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 by a Japanese novelist, Tetsuya Ayukawa

Tetsuya Ayukawa

was a Japanese critic and novelist. He is noted for his Detective Onikawa Series of mystery stories.Ayukawa was born in Tokyo, Japan, but spent his youth in Dalian, China, when it was Japan's leased territory...

. It is about a rich Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 émigré

Émigré

Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....

's death in Dalian

Dalian

Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...

, when it was Japan's leased territory, that Detective Onizuka of Dalian Police tries to solve by finding the suspects' false alibi

Alibi

Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...

s.

Written in 1950, it won Ayukawa a Naoki Prize

Naoki Prize

The Naoki Prize is a Japanese literary award presented semiannually. The official name is Naoki Sanjugo Prize. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the Bungeishunjū magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo...

. He wrote this story against a Dalian background, which, after five years, he still had in his fresh memory.

Main characters

• Ivan Petrov - a rich Russian
  Russians
  The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
  
   émigré
  Émigré
  Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
  
  
• Anton Petrov - Ivan's nephew
• Guo Yunhuan - Anton's fiancé
• Nikolai Petrov - also Ivan's nephew
• Alexander Petrov - also Ivan's nephew
• Natalia Bacour - Alexander's fiancé
• Detective Onitsura - a Dalian
  Dalian
  Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
  
   Police detective, on assignment from Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
  Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
  The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department serves as the police force for the entire Tokyo metropolis. Founded in 1874, it is headed by a superintendent general, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission and approved by the prime minister.The Metropolitan Police, with a staff of more...
  
  
• Detective Sayabin - a Kharbin Police detective