Wed 20 Apr 2016
Reviewed by Barry Gardner: STUART KAMINSKY – Death of a Russian Priest.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[7] Comments
STUART KAMINSKY – Death of a Russian Priest. Porfiry Rostnikov #8. Fawcett, hardcover, 1992. Ballantine, paperback, 1993.
Kaminsky is another author with whom I have an ambivalent relationship. I very much like his books featuring Porfiry Rostnikov and Abe Lieberman, and thoroughly dislike those with Toby Peters. I was a little apprehensive as to what effect the breakup of the USSR would have on his Russian series, but he seems not to have broken stride.
The latest book takes place after the abortive coup against Gorbachev, with Boris Yeltsin in uneasy power. The government agency for which Rostnikov works has been given more power, but bureaucratic enemies still exist on every side, very much including the revamped KGB.
Against this background, Rostnikov and his merry band — Emil Karpo, Sasha Tkach, and a new member, Elena Timofeyeva — are working through two unconnected cases. Rostnikov and Karpo are dispatched to the village of Arkush to deal with the murder of an outspoken and charismatic priest, while Tkach and Elena try to trace the missing daughter of a Syrian diplomat. The missing girl’s lover, a Jew, is murdered just as the book begins.
I have no real idea, of course, as to how accurate Kaminsky has been over the course of the series in depicting the lives and milieu of his Russian characters. They have felt real; and certainly the present book in its picture of everyday life does not contradict what one has read in Time, or seen on network television. If Rostnikov and company are not real, they are Russia’s loss, not ours.
Kaminsky is an entertaining writer, and the Russia he depicts is a fascinating one. I recommend the entire series, perhaps the first few a trifle more.
April 20th, 2016 at 7:42 pm
This is, of course, a direct follow up to my old review of Kaminsky’s MURDER ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD, one of his Toby Peters books:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=39587
Barry makes a good case for the Rostnikov series, but I doubt that I’ll try one. I’ve never read a book taking place in Russia that I really enjoyed, so why should these books be different?
April 20th, 2016 at 9:35 pm
A well done series that was usually well received and reviewed though always a bit in the shadow of the more popular Peters series. As Barry said, the Russian milieu feels right in these, and the changeover after the Soviet collapse didn’t appreciably harm them though the tension may have been greater before the fall.
April 20th, 2016 at 10:39 pm
Steve, try Lionel Davidson’s last book, Kolymsky Heights. Set in Russia. I GUARANTEE you’ll like it.
April 21st, 2016 at 4:03 am
Russian policeman’s full name is Porfiry Petrovich Rostikov.
It’s proper to include patronyms like Petrovich when giving Russian names.
His origin tale, the short story “Snow” (1999) is good.
April 21st, 2016 at 6:49 am
Forget the fact that they’re set in Russia, Steve, and enjoy the characters and the story. That’s why it is different.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:17 am
OK. You’ve convinced me. I must have at least one of the Rostikov books. It won’t be right away, but when I come across it, I’ll give it a try. And David A., everything else I’ve read by Lionel Davidson has been excellent. Thanks for the recommendation!
April 21st, 2016 at 4:50 pm
Steve, David A,
Agree 100% on Davidson and KOLMSKY HEIGHTS. I think I reviewed THE ROSE OF TIBET on here years ago. Remarkable writer who was embraced by Graham Greene, Daphne Du Maurier, and Ian Fleming when he began.