The Russian Singer

Danish diplomat, Jack Andersen posted in Moscow, becomes involved with the "so called" murder suicide of a prostitute, found dead, her wrists slashed, in the apartment of one of the embassy's secretaries

Davidsen's ( The Sardine Deception ) new thriller is a smart mix of mystery and romance. Jack Anderson, a Danish diplomat in pre-Gorbachev Moscow, is determined to discover the truth behind the death of his secretary Sonia, who is found in her bathtub, her wrists slit; on her bed lies the corpse of a sadomasochistic prostitute. Soviet officials are content to call it a murder-suicide, so Jack, sniffing the possibility of a coverup, resorts to illegal tactics. Adding to the puzzle is the revelation that Sonia had been smuggling porno tapes into Moscow, to be sold on the black market. Becoming deeply enmeshed in the seamy underbelly of the city, Jack meets the dead prostitute's sister--the exotic, enigmatic Lilli, a lounge singer. She inadvertently leads him into a trap, getting him fired just when he's close to exposing a connection between Sonia and an ambitious ministerial counselor also at the Danish embassy. Lilli teaches Jack the sobering lesson of corruption: that everyone is for sale, even those in love. Their inevitable split and unrealistic reunion, however, indicate a sudden lack of authorial innovation which undermines an otherwise solid novel.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Though billed as a mystery, Davidsen's second novel (following The Sardine Deception) works better as a political romance between Jack Andersen, a divorced Danish diplomat posted to Moscow, and Lilli Smuul, cabaret-singer sister of prostitute Vera Smuul, who's been strangled in the apartment of an embassy secretary who lies dead in the bath with her wrists slit. Soviet investigator Vladimir Basov seems satisfied that the case is a sordid but otherwise ordinary lesbian murder-suicide, but Jack, ignoring hints from his friendly ambassador C. W. Mogens and officious bureaucrat Castesen, follows hints about Vera's connections with the military to revelations of sex and blackmail--and to Lilli's bed, though he'll spend only a few weeks there before the Chernenko regime expels him. Four years pass before Basov comes after Jack in Denmark to enlist his help in exposing the killer, in a long, disappointing epilogue. The mystery is a bust, then, but Davidsen's Moscow is flavorful, and Jack's East-West dialogues with Russians from brass hats to pimps are worth the price of admission. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This spy thriller is set in Moscow just before and after Gorbachev ascends to power. Jack Andersen, a Danish diplomat, becomes involved in an investigation into the murder of a secretary. He gradually uncovers evidence that leads him into the Soviet underworld of prostitution, pornography, graft, and corruption. "The Russian Singer," Lilli Smuul, is the only person Jack encounters who seems untouched by this corruption. Written by a Danish journalist who spent four years in Moscow, this novel is not very different from standard American thrillers. It depicts the authoritarianism and cruelty of Russian life. It also shows the confusion and mistrust of the Russian people under perestroika. The characters are drawn from the diplomatic community, and they all resemble Americans. Jack is even described as "a Danish version of Paul Newman." Entertaining reading for general readers.
- Kathy Armendt Sorci, IIT Research Inst . , Annapolis, Md.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.