The Dog Who Bit a Policeman
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4.0 • 5 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Moscow’s gone to the dogs in the “imaginative” Edgar Award–winning crime series about a conscientious Russian cop (The New York Times Book Review).
With packs of stray wild canines roaming Moscow, it was inevitable that enterprising criminals would find a way to get rich. As dogfighting became big business, the Mafia got involved, and venues upgraded from alleys and garages to private arenas with padded seats. Police Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov has assigned Sasha Tkach and Elena Timofeyeva to go undercover and bust up a dogfighting ring. But the only ones more vicious than the dogs are the ones who profit from them.
Speaking of fighting in the streets, an international drug cartel has chosen Moscow as its next port of call. One man stands in their way—a young Russian mobster whose brutality is matched only by his madness. In a gang war of this magnitude, no civilian is safe. It’s up to Rostnikov and the Office of Special Investigation to prevent a full-scale bloodbath.
“As usual, Kaminsky manages to make the postlapsarian fracas strangely engrossing. His major characters are vivid and varied . . . Good storytelling in yet another of a distinguished series.” —Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
One of the most prolific mystery writers working today, Kaminsky is also one of the best, as he demonstrates in this 12th installment of his deliciously mordant series about Moscow cop Porfiry Rostnikov. Rostnikov, a weight-lifting, one-legged inspector, is a sharp and caring policeman, as well as the perfect tour guide to a changing--i.e., disintegrating--Russia. Now working in the Office of Special Investigation under a corrupt but efficient boss known as the Yak, Rostnikov has been promoted and promised full support "if one or more of the varied criminal organizations and the confused state bureaucracy attempted to impede the performance of his duties." To this point, the Yak has held on to the allegiance of Rostnikov and his staff, which includes a mad pathologist who talks to cadavers; an obsessive detective called Emil Karpo, "the Vampire," who spends "all his waking hours relentlessly pursuing criminals from both the past and present"; and Rostnikov's son Iosef, a failed actor/playwright and veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan. While Rostnikov and Karpo try to head off a war between two Mafia leaders, Iosef and his partner are looking into the latest disappearance of a popular, Yeltsin-esque politician with a drinking problem. Another pair of detectives pose as Ukrainian high-rollers to infiltrate a burgeoning business in illegal dogfights--hence the title for this beautifully researched and energetically written story. Kaminsky won an Edgar for A Cold Red Sunrise, the fourth book in the series. This effort is even better. FYI: Kaminsky also writes the Toby Peters series and the Abe Lieberman books.
Customer Reviews
Terrible terrible terrible
Too confusing with all the Russian names and it barely made sense. I could not even find online help for this book. The ending was not great. Honestly, if I hadn't had to do a project on this book, I would have stopped reading after the prologue.