Synopsis
Rostnikov has been ordered to go on holiday to Yalta. While he is away, rumor has it that he will be demoted. He's so good at his job, he makes thebureaucr ats look bad. However, not only do Rostnikov and his associates keep their jobs, they manage to solve a kidnapping, robbery, and murder in the process.
Reviews
The central element of this seventh in a series (including 1988's Edgar-winning A Cold Red Sunrise ) pits the wise, humane, brave Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov against proto-Stalinist bureaucrats in the KGB, MVD and GRU who seem to be plotting to assassinate Grobachev and other reformers, with the blame to be put on the CIA. Quite aside from the cliched nature of the plot, the novel is highly manipulative, borrowing Hollywood's jump-cut technique to fracture the story into short takes that leave the reader mystified as to who's doing what to whom and why. The recently demoted Porfiry has been ordered to take a vacation. Accompanying his wife, who is recovering from brain surgery, to Yalta, he becomes involved in investigating the murder of another senior investigator. Meanwhile, back in Moscow, Porfiry's associate Emil Karpo is also ordered on vacation, although he's closing in on a flaky teenage killer who is being egged on by a purported American whose lures include drugs and promises of Madonna records and a fling in Las Vegas. The background of misery, seediness and anti-Semitism as a byproduct of perestroika reflects today's headlines, but the story, although entertaining, strains credibility.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kaminsky's vacation is more like it, since Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov has taken a trip to Yalta with his wife under strict orders from his superiors (why?), whereas Kaminsky seems to be on holiday from the intensity of A Cold Red Sunrise (1988). As Rostnikov looks into the death of his old colleague Georgi Vassilievich, his buddies back in Moscow--Sasha Tkach and Emil Karpo--are chasing, respectively, a gang of computer thieves and the killer of a German businessman. All very normal, even quiet, for Kaminsky, and the connection between two of these cases--a KGB plot to assassinate Gorbachev?--slips in almost unnoticed between Sasha's adventures trying to pass himself off as Jewish and Rostnikov's new friendship with an American cop and his dying wife. A lesser, lighter entry in this fine series, with the most understated Soviet political plot you're likely ever to see. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Series fans should appreciate Inspector Rostnikov's latest adventure. While on forced vacation in Yalta, Rostnikov chances upon the murder of an acquaintance from military intelligence. He also befriends an American policeman, who points out the man tailing Rostnikov. Back in Moscow, meanwhile, Rostnikov's subordinates track a beautiful young woman and two accomplices connected with the murder of a German businessman. Kaminsky solidly and ably controls all these complications, meanwhile providing some political vagaries, a cold-blooded atmosphere, and a certain dry humor.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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