Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express by Stuart M. Kaminsky
Petrovich Rostnikov Mystery Series, No. 14
Mysterious Press - October 24, 2001
ISBN: 0892967471 - Hardcover
Russian Police Procedural

Reviewed by Brenda Weeaks, MyShelf.com
Buy a Copy

Chief Inspector Rostnikov takes a dangerous train ride in his fourteenth Russian police procedural. Chief Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov has been assigned to ride the Trans-Siberian Express to intercept the trade of money for a package of some sort. He finds the assignment intriguing because his boss isn't telling him everything about the package. Inspectors Karpo and Zelach have to look for a rock star that goes by the name of Naked Cossack. He's the son of a powerful Jewish citizen. The detectives go underground and deal with youths who are as indifferent and relentless as them. And Detectives Iosef Rostnikov and Elena Timofeyeva have to find a woman who is stabbing men in the subways. Each storyline is interwoven with the officers' personal lives. Rostnikov has to deal with the returning mother of the two girls staying with him and his wife and Zelach discovers he has the advantage in his case since, surprisingly, he is a punk music fan - readers learn this as they are enlightened about his private life and his partner's, Karpo.

Fair warning to those who expect if not a happy lives for the characters then at the least sounds of ones, I found none. Life seems harsh in Russia and that's how it comes across in reading Kaminsky's compelling series. The author pulls no punches regarding the Moscow Police Department or life in Russia. I found this particular mystery fascinating, yet sometimes confusing because I haven't followed the series. Should one pick this one up and decided to follow the series, they can expect a captivating read worth the money. I do recommend it to mystery readers who favor police procedural type series. Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express is an absorbing series worth discovering.