Fyodor Dostoevsky 
Crime and Punishment 

Crime and Punishment, a classic of Fyodor Dostoevsky, tells the story of Raskolnikov, a former wretched and desperate ex-student who wandered through the slums of St. Petersburg and commits casual murder without remorse or regret. Imagine being a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a purpose beyond the conventional moral law. But when he takes a dangerous cat and mouse game with a suspect police detective, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the loop of his guilt that is clinging around his neck. Only Sonya, a stubborn prostitute, can offer a ransom.