Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is one of the world's first psychological thrillers. A mesmerizing detective story with an intriguing and multifarious central character, Crime and Punishment/i> hinges on the ethical dilemmas and angst of the student Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov who plans and implements the murder of a ruthless pawnbroker. Rodion convinces himself that in killing her he will both solves his financial problems and divests the world of a wicked leech. But can he commit a murder and escape all consequences?