Customer Reviews

Red Hot Blues

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Red Mercury Blues (APA: Red Hot Blues) introduces Artie Cohen, a New York cop who isn't eager to remember that he was once Artemy Maximovich Otalsky of Moscow. When Gennadi Ustinov, an old friend of his father and a former KGB general tries to make contact on a visit to New York, Artie ignores him until it is too late: Ustinov is shot on a live New York talk show and dies before Artie can talk to him. The reluctant Artie, fluent in Russian, is assigned to investigate the killing since the police figure that the answer lies somewhere with the Russian Jewish mafia of Brooklyn's Brighton Beach. Unfortunately no one will talk to a cop, so Artie takes a leave and puts the word out that he is available for hire. Artie identifies Ustinov's killer as a young Russian working as an atomic mule, selling stolen nuclear samples to the highest bidder, and dying of radiation poisoning. Though he swears he will never return to Moscow, Artie is compelled by his search for the truth to confront both his own past and Russia's uneasy present. This New York/Russian noir debut thriller places a troubled protagonist in a situation where he must make hard choices in order to do the right thing.

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Artie Cohen, the hero of RED HOT BLUES is, most of all, a very sexy guy. The kind of guy who loves women who love him back. Maybe he seems like a bit of a womanizer, but it's really true to the way guys are. He's not a creep, he's not PC, either. He's also complex and complicated and more like a real human being than cop I've read in a long time. When you read it, you think Kevin Spacy or Kevin Kline or Jeff Bridges. The plot of RED HOT BLUES is dark and terrifying and takes Artie from Brighton Beach Brooklyn, rule of Russian mafia mobs back to Moscow where he was born and grew up. because the real secret of Artie Cohen is he was born Artemy Ostalsky, son of a KGB superstar, and a Jewish mother, and that they were forced out of Russian in the 70s--Artemy became Artie and after that he only wanted to be an American. A New Yorker. Nothing else seems to matter and you really identify with the sense of ambiguity that confronts most immigrants. The plot in which stolen nuclear materials become an international hazard is played out on both an epic and a small scale, so you are absolutely terrorized by the possiblity that there could real be a tiny nuke. I couldn't wait for more Artie Cohen books, and also loved Hot Poppies. Now Bloody London.

Artie Cohen loves being a swinging single New York City police officer. However, one memory he prefers to forget is his childhood growing up in Moscow. Artie's past and his present collide when a friend of his father, former KGB agent Gennadi Ustinov, is murdered on a live TV show. Artie is assigned to investigate the killing.

Artie soon finds himself in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, dealing with the notorious Russian Mafia. Artie learns that a minuscule nuclear weapon is being pedaled on the streets. He traces the nuclear trail back to Moscow where he meets a citizenry willing to sell everything and anyone for a price. Artie's cynicism is muted when he meets and falls in love with Svetlana. Meanwhile, people close to Artie are being killed, urging him to quickly uncover the identity of the murderer before anyone else he knows becomes the next victim.

RED HOT BLUES is a very good mixing of a police procedural with an international thriller. Artie, who struggles with his heritage, is a wonderful cop. The support cast (in Moscow and Brooklyn) add much authenticity, while the mean streets of both cities are brought to teeming life by Reggie Nadelson. Though the girth of characters (especially those with Russian names) may lead to some confusion, readers will want more novels starring Artie. Hopefully, the next book, HOT POPPIES, released in England will come to these shores very soon.

Harriet Klausner

An annoyingly stereotypical piece of russophobic junk. It is saddeniing that there are Americans who learn about Russia from books like this.