Customer Reviews

Death of a Dissident

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Most of the books written for Americans about Soviet era Moscow seem to be spy thrillers filled with dramatic characters. Death of a Dissident, while acknowledging the Communist state, is much more a book of real people living and working in this world. Just because they're communists doesn't mean they don't commit crimes of passion or worry about their children or whether they can win an athletic competition.

This is the debut of the long running series feature Rostnikov and his two assistants. I'll certainly be reading more. It's fundamentally a police procedural -- but with both a Russian mind and the Russian system to work within.

In this book a dissident is murdered the day before a show trial where he had hoped to get his message to the western media. It quickly becomes clear that this isn't a KGB murder but that a mad man is out there. Kaminsky guides the reader through a fascinating mix of genuine clues and red herrings. A good read.

I haven't read later books in this series but so much happens in this book to establish the chemistry of the trio of detectives. It's worth chasing down a copy to start at the beginning.

This is the first book in the Rostnikov series. Kaminsky has managed to create distinct characters that you like and care about and also an interesting mystery. In the process you also learn about the difficulties and coping mechanisms needed for living in Russia. This series is almost on par with the greatest of the foreign mystery series-the Martin Beck series beginning with the Laughing Policeman.

Porfiry Rostnikov is a man of his time and country, a war hero, who has been a Moskow Detective for 18 years, he knows the score and the system. When he is called to find the murderer of a dissident he knows that he has to be careful in what he finds since the man has been under surveillance by the KGB.

Everyone agrees it would be better if they can find some one not involved with the party, or state security apparatas, to be the murderer and not have a political reason for doing it. It falls into their lap that one of his neighbors who is a taxi driver is the perfect fall guy. He may not have done this murder but he probably did one at sometime so it all evens out.

Even though he can't get his toilet fixed (our hero is busy teaching himself plumbing), he lucks out with the KGB, who thinking he has found a fall guy for them, bring his son Josef home from Afganistan, as a thank you. Unfortunately, they will have to bury the truth that the real murderer, is the son of a very powerful (black market) industrialist. But since he has also murdered his wife and some others, they will be able to quietly commit him to a psychiatric hospital and forget that the whole thing even happened.

Most interesting of all, is listening to the day to day troubles that people have with plumbing, housing, food; that make the people's paradise less than what Marx expected.

Rostnikov the stubborn genius of the police is very likeable as all of the characters in the series. It's hard not to when all their faults and virtues are described so nicely.

In this book and others in the series the author routinely lets you know very early exactly who committed the crime but he doesn't often explain why. The mystery often turns out to be why are these people committing these crimes and that is what makes this so interesting.

I can only hope though that Russia is not as depressing as it is described. If it is then thank goodness I live here in this capitalist world with no morals.

So if you like a good mystery that's a quick read then enjoy.

Buy them all! Read them in order! Everyone is a gem of a mystery, great characterizations plus history and sociology of Mother Russia and the USSR; (yup) the series starts before the fall. I love them all.