Another great Porfiry Rostnikov mystery.
Spoilers \/
Back is my second favorite Russian policeman (Arkady Renko still reigns), Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, named after the Dostoyevsky's inspector in Crime and Punishment. In this installment, an old Jew is killed and Porfiry investigates.
Separately, yet connected, the cars of those "more equal than others" are being stolen. Oh, and a former almost-Olympian with stomach cancer is taking out people with her father's ancient rifle. All these things are connected in that the policemen involved all were Rostnikov's men, before he lost his position in book #2, Black Knight in Red Square.
Those other crimes get solved, one way or the other, and Rostnikov is warned off the case "of the old Jew." But he cannot stop thinking about the Jew's children. With some clever thinking and word play, he continues the investigation and finds the murderer. But there is a fourth man outstanding. And the murderer is killed.
I'd gotten most of the way through the book before the KGB reared its ugly head. Colonel Drozhinsky is an integral part of the first two books, and finally, right at the end, there he is. But Rostnikov isn't called in to speak to him, but a yet higher individual in that organization. And with that, the threat against Rostnikov's team, as well as his wife and son, the case is over. And then book. At 82% on my Kindle.
Spoilers /\
I've managed to get about 10 of these wonderful books, all except the first, through Kindle deals, each for two bucks. Looking forward to #4!
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