Авакум Захов

Avakum Zakhov (Bulgarian: Авакум Захов) is a Bulgarian counter-espionage operative and the protagonist in a series of novels by Bulgarian author Andrei Gulyashki. Avakum Zakhov was intended as a Bulgarian version of Sherlock Holmes: 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 first novel in the series The Zakhov Mission (Bulgarian: Случаят в Момчилово (=The Momchilovo Affair)) was first published in 1959 and spawned a series of Zakhov books, which became best-sellers in the Eastern Bloc. 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 (Priklyucheniyata na Avakum Zahov)