Synopsis
As Russian mafia members begin to be the targets of a series of murders, Inspector Rostnikov investigates, but two undercover agents are closer to the truth as they try to determine who is behind an illegal dog fighting ring in Moscow
Reviews
Kaminskys Moscow is a haphazard place. Communism is defunct, and democracy should be having its day, but if you ask Chief Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov (Hard Currency, 1995, etc.), nothing substantive has changed. Corruption in high places is still as prevalent as the potholes in a Moscow street. True, there are some new gangs around to profit from itmafias, they like to call themselvesthat conduct business somewhat differently than did the old Soviets in their churlish prime: the new are uglier and decidedly more prone to violence. And so are the spectator sports. Dogfighting to the death, for instance, takes place as crowds roar approval and much money changes hands. Still, for Rostnikov and his elite Special Investigative Squad, the job is what it's always beenchasing criminals relentlessly and never, ever pausing to question the value of the effort involved. No, not even when it's gangsters killing gangsters (which may have a certain perverse upside). Not even then, because good coppers don't allow themselves to be sidetracked. And if the good copper's private life is threatening to careen from troubled to tragic, that life and the job must be stowed everlastingly in their own separate, watertight compartments. As usual, Kaminsky manages to make the postlapsarian fracas strangely engrossing. His major characters are vivid and varied; his walk-ons have a way of lingering in the mind. For Kaminsky, the devil is never in the details. Good storytelling in yet another of a distinguished series. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
YA-Kaminsky's stories featuring Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, Senior Investigator in Russia's Office of Special Investigation, continue to offer glimpses of life and murder in contemporary Moscow. Beginning with the undercover investigation of an illegal ring of dogfights sponsored by several units of Moscow's Mafia gangs, Kaminsky adds several other plot lines that branch off into smaller and more personal stories. Iosef, Rostnikov's son, attempts to solve the murders of two hit men. Rostnikov's wife battles with a brain tumor and Sasha Tkach, one of Rostnikov's agents, and his wife have marital problems. Additional characters contribute to the difficulties, reflecting on the complexity of life and its interconnections. The shared major theme of all the subplots is the age-old fight of good versus evil, as Rostnikov and his staff struggle to control the illegal activities in Moscow. Kaminsky delivers both the geographic and environmental descriptions of the city as well as detailed accounts of what life must be like for residents of the former U.S.S.R. Teens interested in political science and Russia and who enjoy fast-paced action will find them all here.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Kaminsky's a master of tone, maintaining the edgy excitement of suspense while seemingly wandering through tangents....
One of the most prolific mystery writers working today, Kaminsky is also one of the best, as he demonstrates in this 12th installment of his deliciously mordant series about Moscow cop Porfiry Rostnikov. Rostnikov, a weight-lifting, one-legged inspector, is a sharp and caring policeman, as well as the perfect tour guide to a changingAi.e., disintegratingARussia. Now working in the Office of Special Investigation under a corrupt but efficient boss known as the Yak, Rostnikov has been promoted and promised full support "if one or more of the varied criminal organizations and the confused state bureaucracy attempted to impede the performance of his duties." To this point, the Yak has held on to the allegiance of Rostnikov and his staff, which includes a mad pathologist who talks to cadavers; an obsessive detective called Emil Karpo, "the Vampire," who spends "all his waking hours relentlessly pursuing criminals from both the past and present"; and Rostnikov's son Iosef, a failed actor/playwright and veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan. While Rostnikov and Karpo try to head off a war between two Mafia leaders, Iosef and his partner are looking into the latest disappearance of a popular, Yeltsin-esque politician with a drinking problem. Another pair of detectives pose as Ukrainian high-rollers to infiltrate a burgeoning business in illegal dogfightsAhence the title for this beautifully researched and energetically written story. Kaminsky won an Edgar for A Cold Red Sunrise, the fourth book in the series. This effort is even better.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The inordinately versatile and prolific Kaminsky (author of the the Toby Peters and Abe Lieberman mysteries) returns with the 11th Inspector Rostnikov novel, which stunningly and effortlessly interweaves three crimes, all set amidst corrupt, Mafia-ridden contemporary Moscow: the disappearance of a politician, the serial murder of members of two rival gangs, and an illegal, big-money dogfight ring. Detective/philosopher Rostnikov and his quirky team rank among the best the genre offers.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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