Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov fights to stop a vendetta against the acrobats of the Moscow circus
A drunk perches atop the statue of Nikolai Gogol in Arbat Square, and police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov sighs. After years fighting to become a top detective, he has suffered a demotion to the minor crimes unit, which means the lunatic on the statue is his responsibility. But the limping policeman fails to talk the distraught man down, and with a perfect somersault, acrobat Valerian Duznetzov makes the last leap of his storied career.
Across town, Duznetzov’s partner, Oleg, waits for him under the big top, practicing their trapeze routine high above the circus floor. After letting go of the bars and going into a perfect double flip, Oleg falls, realizing just before impact that the net was treacherously untied. As Rostnikov digs into this strange pair of deaths, he finds dark secrets inside the Moscow circus—secrets sure to grab the attention of his old friends at the KGB.
From Publishers Weekly
Kaminsky's three novels (including the Edgar nominee Black Knight in Red Square starring the shrewd, temperate Inspector Rostnikov of the Moscow police have attracted many readers. This new tale finds Rostnikov trying to save a young circus aerialist from the killer of her two fellow performers. The inspector himself is like an acrobat on the high wire without a net, a target of both his jealous supervisor and the unknown murderer. Working day and night, Rostnikov nonetheless assumes the added burden of helping his colleague, Karpo, catch the mad knifer of eight prostitutes. The inspector also foils a plot by a Soviet official who threatens Rostnikov's young policeman friend, Tkach, before this witty, intricate thriller reaches a suspenseful finale in the center ring under the Moscow Circus Big Top. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
“Quite simply the best cop to come out of the Soviet Union since Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko in Gorky Park.” —The San Francisco Examiner
“The Ed McBain of Mother Russia.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Stuart Kaminsky’s Rostnikov novels are among the best mysteries being written.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune
Description:
Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov fights to stop a vendetta against the acrobats of the Moscow circus
A drunk perches atop the statue of Nikolai Gogol in Arbat Square, and police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov sighs. After years fighting to become a top detective, he has suffered a demotion to the minor crimes unit, which means the lunatic on the statue is his responsibility. But the limping policeman fails to talk the distraught man down, and with a perfect somersault, acrobat Valerian Duznetzov makes the last leap of his storied career.
Across town, Duznetzov’s partner, Oleg, waits for him under the big top, practicing their trapeze routine high above the circus floor. After letting go of the bars and going into a perfect double flip, Oleg falls, realizing just before impact that the net was treacherously untied. As Rostnikov digs into this strange pair of deaths, he finds dark secrets inside the Moscow circus—secrets sure to grab the attention of his old friends at the KGB.
From Publishers Weekly
Kaminsky's three novels (including the Edgar nominee Black Knight in Red Square starring the shrewd, temperate Inspector Rostnikov of the Moscow police have attracted many readers. This new tale finds Rostnikov trying to save a young circus aerialist from the killer of her two fellow performers. The inspector himself is like an acrobat on the high wire without a net, a target of both his jealous supervisor and the unknown murderer. Working day and night, Rostnikov nonetheless assumes the added burden of helping his colleague, Karpo, catch the mad knifer of eight prostitutes. The inspector also foils a plot by a Soviet official who threatens Rostnikov's young policeman friend, Tkach, before this witty, intricate thriller reaches a suspenseful finale in the center ring under the Moscow Circus Big Top.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
“Quite simply the best cop to come out of the Soviet Union since Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko in Gorky Park.” —The San Francisco Examiner
“The Ed McBain of Mother Russia.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Stuart Kaminsky’s Rostnikov novels are among the best mysteries being written.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune