A Whisper to the Living (Inspector Rostnikov) [Hardcover]

Stuart M. Kaminsky (Author)

Book Description

Series: Inspector Rostnikov | Publication Date: January 5, 2010

A Whisper to the Living continues the adventures (some would say trials and tribulations) of Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, an honest policeman in a very dishonest post-Soviet Union. Rostnikov is one of the most engaging and relevant characters in crime fiction, a sharp and caring policeman as well as the perfect tour guide to a changing Russia.  

Rostnikov and his team are searching for a serial killer who has claimed at least 40 victims. And then there is the problem of protecting a visiting British journalist who is working on a story about a Moscow prostitution ring…and in doing so Rostnikov and his team uncover a chain of murders that lead to a source too high to be held accountable if the police want to keep their jobs

Or their lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In MWA Grand Master Kaminsky's so-so 16th Porfiry Rostnikov novel (after 2008's People Who Walk in Darkness), the chief inspector of Russia's Office of Special Investigations pursues a serial killer, the Bitsevsky Maniac, named for the Moscow park in whose vicinity many of his elderly victims have been found bludgeoned to death with a hammer. Rostnikov stakes out the park in the hopes of attracting the killer's attention. Meanwhile, the chief inspector's colleagues, who include Rostnikov's son, Iosef, deal with unrelated crimes, such as tracking down a boxing champion who's suspected of murdering his wife and his sparring partner. These subplots, combined with an early reveal of the maniac's identity, lessen the suspense. In addition, Rostnikov is a lot less complex character than another Russian cop trying to maintain his honesty in a corrupt society, Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko. Sadly, the prolific Kaminsky died October 9, 2009. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* The late Kaminsky, a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and author of four detective series, had an uncanny knack for summoning up the feel of cities and even lost eras, and doing so in a few details. His Abe Lieberman mysteries, for example, fairly reek of the diverse cooking and sidewalk smells of Chicago’s North Side. The Toby Peters mysteries, set in 1940s Hollywood, careen from scene to scene, mimicking his real-life characters’ volatile lives. And the Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov novels (this one is the sixteenth) have moved from Soviet Russia to contemporary Russia, with one man at the center of a continually collapsing world. Inspector Rostnikov has lost part of his left leg. From time to time, he visits the preserved limb in the police morgue; with just this touch, Kaminsky captures Rostnikov’s mix of cop bleakness and Russian romantic sensibility. Rostnikov proceeds deliberately through a maelstrom of cases. A grocery clerk who prides himself on setting and meeting goals is murdering old men in Bitsevsky Park; Rostnikov is one of his intended victims. A famous boxer is suspected of murdering his wife and his sparring partner; one of his former lovers launches a dangerous investigation of her own. And an investigative journalist from the UK uncovers a Moscow prostitution trafficking ring. This ring has customers that it would be very imprudent for Rostnikov’s Office of Special Investigations to uncover. Put the three stories together, and readers have another Kaminsky knockout. --Connie Fletcher

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765318881
• ISBN-13: 978-0765318886
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #774,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whether it was Rostnikov, Fonesca or Lieberman, Kaminsky had the skill and ability to engage readers and mystery lovers, January 25, 2010

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Whisper to the Living (Inspector Rostnikov) (Hardcover)

Mystery aficionados lost a star writer in 2009 when Stuart Kaminsky passed away in St. Louis, Missouri. In total, Kaminsky published well over 50 mystery novels, screenplays and biographies of film directors. He was also an Edgar Award winner and received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 2006.

Since 1977, Kaminsky entertained readers with a variety of protagonists in forums around the world. His first detective was Toby Peters, a 1940s PI whose plots allowed Kaminsky, a film professor, to bring Hollywood celebrities as well as other historical figures of all shapes and sizes into his stories. It didn't take long until other sleuths followed. A native Chicagoan, Kaminsky relocated to Florida just as his character Lew Fonesca leaves the Windy City for Sarasota after the tragic death of his wife. Detective Abe Lieberman, a Chicago police officer, works the neighborhoods and communities as Kaminsky captures in glorious detail the various ethnic groups and neighborhoods of that diverse city. He also moved halfway around the world to introduce readers to Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov of the Moscow police.

A WHISPER TO THE LIVING features Rostnikov, the fiercely independent Russian investigator who marches to the beat of his own drum. The novel follows the traditional Kaminsky formula with detectives performing multiple investigations while confronting life's personal trials and tribulations. For Rostnikov, his major case is a serial killer, the "Bitsevsky Maniac," named for the park where he has murdered dozens literally in plain view of the police. The Rostnikov team always receives assignments of hopeless cases that seemingly cannot be solved, and when Rostnikov manages to succeed, the credit is usually taken by others.

The search for the killer comes while Rostnikov prepares for the wedding of his son, Iosef. In addition, other cases merit attention, including the investigation into a prostitution ring that involves murder, political corruption and blackmail. Finally, the Rostnikov team must solve the apparent double murder of a Russian heavyweight boxer's wife and sparring partner. The boxer is the prime suspect, making the politically sensitive case perfect for them.

The formula is classic Kaminsky: multiple cases juggling in the air where the identity of the criminal is not the mystery. It is not the culprit but the manner by which the crime will be solved that engages readers. Whether it was Rostnikov, Fonesca or Lieberman, Kaminsky had the skill and ability to engage readers and mystery lovers.

A WHISPER TO THE LIVING may well be Stuart Kaminsky's final novel. If so, the simple but elegant tales of simple men solving complicated crimes will be missed. Whether Russian or American, the detectives and investigators frequenting Kaminsky's novels for a quarter of a century believed in humanity, justice and law. We will miss them and the man who brought them to life on the pages of classic mysteries.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the other books in the series, January 27, 2010

By 

Neerja Tripathi "Ardent Reader" (North Potomac, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Whisper to the Living (Inspector Rostnikov) (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of Inspector Rostnikov and I have enjoyed almost all his outings with great delight. How ever, this book, and to a small extent the last one also, was a disappointment.

First, there wasn't much of a story. There were three main threads and none of them was compelling enough. Actually two of them, including the one Rostnikov was working on were bordering on insipid. Serial killer bit could have been a gripping, thriller like thread but Kaminsky just squandered it, I don't know why. And the thread about British journalist and her quest was so bleeding meaningless.

Second, in his recent books , Kaminsky has taken to assigning three (or more) different cases to Rostnikov team. In some of the past books, all the cases were at least supervised by the Inspector Rostnikov's character, but this one was strange. There was no communication between the team. It was like reading three separate crime stories and Rostnikov seemed oblivious of all but his own case.

Third, and this is not just Kaminsky, I have seen it happening to a lot of the series - at some point the series becomes nothing but the chronicle of life of the characters and the author is encouraged to convey more and more about the personal life of the detectives. I am all for some personal glimpses and humanization of characters, but Oh My God, this one was written just as an update on the life of Rostnikov, his cancer striken wife, his son and his fiance Elena (and her aunt), Sasha the sad womanizer and his deaf mother and his wife, Zelach and his dying mother...you get the picture. sort of what Martha Grimes is teetering towards now - I think they (authors) get under pressure to write another addition to the series and are told that the readers would love to know read more about all the charming characters and their quirks they have come to love. And then the author presents a book which has nothing but the personal trivia of characters and exaggerated quirks. FATAL.

Fourth - in this book Kaminsky sort of violates the Chekhov's Gun rule - introduces a character in the story, gives him a whole two page scene - home and family setting - and does nothing with him.

So, verdict - read it only if you are a die hard fan who like the soap operas, would like to know what happens next in the life of Rostnikov and his friends.
I am giving it three stars only because I have basically fallen in love with the one legged detective and can not give him anything less.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars i will miss Kaminsky, February 8, 2010

By 

Philagrius "reincarnated library cat" (ruidoso downs NM) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Whisper to the Living (Inspector Rostnikov) (Hardcover)

Something was off about this novel. It seemed piece meal. I noticed the chapters had titles which in his other works never did. It seemed hurried. when i read the dust jacket and learned of Kaminsky's death ,it jelled .This was a work in progress( almost finished) that some one else put together and/or finished..Sill very much worth the read. Cherish the last of the wieght lifting plumber. I loved Rostnikov et al...........They will be missed.
Long Live Emil Karpo. Arkady rocks!