Red Chameleon [Hardcover]

Kaminsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1985

The violent and inexplicable murder of an old man in his bathtub and the theft of a worthless candlestick send Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov on a hunt into the past . . .

A ring of car thieves with a taste for expensive vehicles is at large in Moscow's streets . . .

High above the gray city, a sniper is taking aim at police officers, and the obsessed detective Emil Karpo takes the assignment to heart . . .

"Kaminsky works up plenty of sweaty-palmed suspense of the best sort, built out of equal parts of likeable characters and believable dangers."

Washington Post Book World

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What is the connection between a psychotic woman carrying a trombone case for most unmusical purposes through the streets of Moscow and the theft of the deputy procurator's much-prized automobile? How does the slaying of a young policeman by a sniper relate to the murder of aged Abraham as he reads Izvestia in the bathtub, by intruders who steal a worthless brass candlestick on their way out? And why is it that Abraham's crippled daughter Sofiya is driven by ambivalent feelings toward her dead father? These are among the conundrums confronting Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov of the Moscow Procurator's Office as he trudges painfully through his rounds (like Sofiya, he has a game leg), teasing humorless underlings, sparring with members of the KGB, squinting jaundice-eyed into the cobwebbed corners of the political establishment, where no light shines. Despite a certain ungainliness in scenes of action, the narrative moves easily to an unhappily credible, ironic conclusion. And Rostnitkov, his hopes of emigration with his Jewish wife dashed, faces yet another professional setback with stoic resignation. Following Black Knight in Red Square, this is the fourth novel in a series featuring the appealing, amiable, sore-beset Inspector. n.b. This book is not to be confused with the Bantam paperback of the same title (Paperback Forecasts, Sept. 27), also to be published in November. November
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

The violent and inexplicable murder of an old man in his bathtub and the theft of a worthless candlestick send Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov on a hunt into the past . . .

A ring of car thieves with a taste for expensive vehicles is at large in Moscow's streets . . .

High above the gray city, a sniper is taking aim at police officers, and the obsessed detective Emil Karpo takes the assignment to heart . . .

"Kaminsky works up plenty of sweaty-palmed suspense of the best sort, built out of equal parts of likeable characters and believable dangers."

Washington Post Book World --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 209 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; First Edition edition (November 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684184249
• ISBN-13: 978-0684184241
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,863,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes a Fable Can Save Your Life, July 27, 2006

By 

Grey Wolffe "Zeb Kantrowitz" (North Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Red Chameleon (Mass Market Paperback)

Once more Porfiry Petrovich has gotten himself into trouble with his superiors. He is so high on the sh-t list that he'll need a parachute if he falls off. In this book there are three main crimes: Sasha is looking for a group that is stealing the cars of upper party members(including the car of Porfiry's new boss, the new deputy procurator); Karpo is looking for a sniper (using a WW2 rifle) who has killed a policeman; Porfiry is looking for the murderer of an 84 year old jewish man who took an old brass candlestick after the crime.

As those of us who have read the three previous books know, all of the investigations will insomeway be impacted by Rostnikov. The search for the murderer of the old man is the most interesting because it has to do with his old friends from before the revolution. One has become an actor, one emigrated to america and came back in the thirties, and one stayed on in the states and became a mafioso (though it's never stated).

Lurking behind all this is the fall-out from Rostnikov's failed blackmail scheme, of the KGB, in order to obtain exit-visas for him and his wife. She has lost her job and been unable to find another, and he has been demoted. But because he is such a good investigator, he is temporarily put on the cases of the stolen cars and the sniper. Porfiry proves his competance by solving all the crimes (as well as insuring that the deputy procurator's car comes back in pieces).

Strangley enough, that parachute that Porfiry needs shows up right at the end of the book (he has made a powerful though dangerous new friend). His new boss is sent to Leningrad, and it looks like the old deputy procurator will be coming back to work (at least part time). His life will seem to be getting a little bit better in the future...but, he can still screw it up if he tries.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three simple cases.... Right...., July 20, 2001

By 

Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Chameleon (Mass Market Paperback)

Rostnikov is in the doghouse after his adventures of the first two novels in this series. He has a new boss who is, of course, a jerk. The powers that be have claimed his assistants for fairly glamourous cases: Karpo is seeking a weeping sniper and Sascha is trying to locate a car theft ring. Rostnikov is left with the "dregs" - the murder of an 84 year old Jewish man. The only clues -- one of the killers resembles a face in a 60 year old photo from the victim's youth and the killer took a brass candlestick.

Karpo and the sniper is an interesting story with a good ending. Rostnikov gets into the action on the car theft ring - a story that ends with high drama (Kaminsky's screenwriter past comes through). And then, the case of the murder is closed without a solution. Rostnikov, never one to leave things undone, keeps looking in the killing only to unveil a most interesting tale.

Overall, a solid third installment in the series. New readers are encouraged (strongly) to go back to the beginning (Death of a Dissident) as the evolution of the main characters is as much a part of the reading experience as is the solving of the crimes. And why read this series rather that the others? Half of what I like is simply the Moscow setting and learning about everyday life in 1980's Russia. The other half is that the main characters are really growing on me - Rostikov with his grit and intelligence; Karpo the stoic; and Sascha just trying to juggle his wife and mother.

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuart Kaminsky, March 2, 2011

By 

Michael Shapiro (Miami) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Red Chameleon (Mass Market Paperback)

A shame this author passed away about a year ago. I have read virtually all his books. Too bad more are not forthcoming.