A Fine Red Rain, Stuart M. Kaminsky
A Fine Red Rain, Stuart M. Kaminsky
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

A Fine Red Rain

Author: Stuart M. Kaminsky

Narrator: John McLain

Unabridged: 7 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/27/2021

Synopsis

Tension runs high as a Moscow cop investigates murder under the big top—from the Edgar Award–winning "Ed McBain of Mother Russia" (Kirkus Reviews).

Porfiry Rostnikov was one of the top detectives in Moscow—until he crossed the KGB. On the orders of the secret service, this bulldog cop is busted down to the minor crimes unit, where his talents are utterly wasted. When a drunk climbs the statue of Nikolai Gogol in Arbat Square and threatens to kill himself, Rostnikov tries to talk the man down. But with a perfect somersault, acrobat Valerian Duznetzov leaps from the statue—the final jump of a storied career.

Across town, Duznetzov's partner, Oleg, practices his trapeze routine high above the circus floor. After letting go of the bars and going into a perfect double flip, Oleg falls, expecting the net to catch him. But the net has been sabotaged, and Oleg dies. 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.

About Stuart M. Kaminsky

Stuart M. Kaminsky (1934-2009) was one of the most prolific crime fiction authors of the last four decades. Born in Chicago, he spent his youth immersed in pulp fiction and classic cinema-two forms of popular entertainment which he would make his life's work. After college and a stint in the army, Kaminsky wrote film criticism and biographies of the great actors and directors of Hollywood's Golden Age. In 1977, when a planned biography of Charlton Heston fell through, Kaminsky wrote Bullet for a Star, his first Toby Peters novel, beginning a fiction career that would last the rest of his life.

Kaminsky penned twenty-four novels starring the detective, whom he described as "the anti-Philip Marlowe." In 1981's Death of a Dissident, Kaminsky debuted Moscow police detective Porfiry Rostnikov, whose stories were praised for their accurate depiction of Soviet life. His other two series starred Abe Lieberman, a hardened Chicago cop, and Lew Fonseca, a process server. In all, Kaminsky wrote more than sixty novels. He died in St. Louis in 2009.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paula on April 24, 2023

Ed McBain´s 87th precinct series are the best police procedural series ever,so when someone suggested this,as somewhat similiar and an homage to McBain,I was keen to read them. Unfortunately,no comparison. While the chacarcters are well drawn,and the city/period,even better,it´s just not interesting.......more

Goodreads review by Bob on November 21, 2022

Summary: When two of three high wire artist die, one by suicide, one by “accident,” Rostnikov suspects more, little realizing the reach of the KGB into this case while his friends Sasha deals with black marketers and Karpo pursues a serial murderer of prostitutes. Porfiry Rostnikov, once a hero has b......more

Goodreads review by Ed on February 19, 2023

Kaminsky has three detective series of which I’ve read at least one of each and enjoyed them all. So far I like the Porfiry Rostnikov series the most. Perhaps because it’s a bit darker (almost anything would be darker than the Toby Peters books.) It almost can’t help that as it’s set in dreary Sovie......more

Goodreads review by Stephen on October 16, 2024

I'm not sure how I got this book, probably on a sale somewhere, and I see that it is part of a series, and this is the first one I've read, and since the characters have a past that is probably known to people who have read earlier books in the series, I lost the plot. The story is about a Moscow de......more

Goodreads review by John R. Goyer on January 10, 2021

Another delightful entry for Inspector Porfiry. The same basic formula as the last volume I read but that's not really a bad thing. Multiple story lines, family issues mixed in - the characters continue to interest and grow on me, and his working of the system is wonderful to see in action. The leve......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List