Fall of a Cosmonaut

Rating:
Summary: Kaminsky Keeps His Feet on the Ground!
Review: Stuart M. Kaminsky continues his Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov series in grand style--grand, that is, if you like suspense, excitement, great characterization, superb plot--in general, great reading.

In this, the 13th of the series, Rostnikov's name is mentioned by a cosmonaut on board the space station Mir (If anything goes wrong, says Tsimion Vladkova as he relates an emergency situation on board, "please inform Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov."). Of course, something does go wrong. Vladkova returns to earth, then disappears. Rostnikov is told to find him, and his superiors are more than just a little curious as to why the cosmonaut should refer specifically to him! However, locating a "fallen cosmonaut" is not as easy as it seems; the Inspector knows that his case has the highest priority. No one knows if the Vladkova is dead, kidnapped, or has simply disappeared on his own. The government is concerned because he possesses valuable secrets!

As usual, Kaminsky has more than one story going on at the same time, all interrelated, and all equally exciting. One sub-plot deals with a movie director working on the life of Tolstoy whose film negatives have been stolen and are being held for ransom; another involves the undertakings at a paranormal research center, where the director is found murdered.

It takes the skill, the intellect, the presence of Rostnikov and his crew (Sasha Tkach, Emile Karpo, Elena Timofeyeva, and Arkady Zelach) to sort out and to solve all these problems. Kaminsky seems to have post-Iron Curtain Russia's "number" and "Fall of a Cosmonaut" only enhances the series! ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Suspense and the daily grind in crumbling Russia
Review: The economic and political mess of Russia provides prime hunting grounds for Kaminsky's Edgar Award-winning ("A Cold Red Sunrise") Porfiry Rostnikov series. "Fall of a Cosmonaut" opens with a prologue set in the crumbling Mir Space station where Rostnikov's name is mentioned by cosmonaut Tsimion Vladovka in the midst of a major unexplained disaster.

A year later, Tsimion is missing and Rostnikov, head of Special Investigations, receives an ominous order to find him. Meanwhile, brooding Marxist stoic Emil Karpo and his unassuming partner Arkady Zelach investigate murder in a lab for paranormal research and Elena Timofeyeva (recently affianced to Rostnikov's son Iosef) and Sasha Tkach, his habitual depression overlaid by a peculiar euphoria since his life has bottomed out, are sent to recover a a great Russian epic film being held for exorbitant ransom.

The character-driven narrative shifts from case to case, encompassing the points of view of each investigator as well as various witnesses, victims and villains. The tone is a cross between Ed McBain's 87th Precinct (a particular favorite of Rostnikov's) and the Zen practicality of Janwillem van de Wetering. Personal developments entwine with investigations and everything is complicated by the daily difficulties of Russian life and occasional political incursions.

Kaminsky, who also writes the Toby Peters and Abe Lieberman series, delivers another well-constructed, well-written entertainment.