A Cold Red Sunrise
4/5
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About this ebook
When forced to choose between the law and the party line, Police Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov has a disturbing tendency to fight for justice, and that has won him no friends at the Kremlin. Now his enemies in the KGB have arranged a transfer to the lowest rungs of Moscow law enforcement, a backwater department assigned to only the most hopeless cases, one of which is about to take Rostnikov deep into Siberia.
A corrupt commissar has been stabbed through the eye with an icicle. A murder at this level should be a top priority, but Rostnikov gets the distinct impression that the powers-that-be would prefer this case go unsolved—and that Rostnikov not survive this Siberian winter.
“As always, Kaminsky provides a colorful, tightly written mystery . . . filled with twists, countertwists, and a surprise ending that is plausible and clever.” —Chicago Tribune
Stuart M. Kaminsky
Stuart M. Kaminsky was the author of more than 60 novels and an Edgar Award winner who was given the coveted Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America. His series include the Lew Fonesca, Inspector Rostnikov, Toby Peters, and Abe Lieberman mysteries, which includes such titles as Terror Town, The Last Dark Place, and Not Quite Kosher. He passed away in the fall of 2009.
Read more from Stuart M. Kaminsky
Exercise in Terror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When the Dark Man Calls Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Melody and Murder: Two Novels Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When the Dark Man Calls: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
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Titles in the series (20)
Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death of a Dissident Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Knight in Red Square Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Chameleon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tarnished Icons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Cold Red Sunrise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death of a Russian Priest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood and Rubles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fall of a Cosmonaut Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dog Who Bit a Policeman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Fine Red Rain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Cold Red Sunrise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hard Currency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man Who Walked Like a Bear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rostnikov's Vacation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death of a Russian Priest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Fine Red Rain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Knight in Red Square Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood and Rubles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related ebooks
A Cold Red Sunrise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rostnikov's Vacation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Chameleon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood and Rubles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man Who Walked Like a Bear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hard Currency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lieberman's Choice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Knight in Red Square Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fall of a Cosmonaut Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Fine Red Rain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tarnished Icons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death of a Dissident Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death of a Russian Priest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dog Who Bit a Policeman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wolves Eat Dogs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lieberman's Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Silence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Canto for a Gypsy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catch a Falling Clown Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bullet for a Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lieberman's Thief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Stations: An Arkady Renko Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Murder on the Yellow Brick Road Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Last Dark Place Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man Who Shot Lewis Vance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tatiana: An Arkady Renko Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for A Cold Red Sunrise
61 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Another 2013 discovery, as far as I'm concerned. Never heard of the guy, so everything came as total surprise. Sometimes it pays off to read something quite unexpected.
I've been digging up all of the Edgar Awards. Before getting hold of the complete list, I thought I knew everyone there was to know on the Crime Fiction Scene. Not so.
One of the things that surprised me was the portrayal of Siberia, which is quite mesmerizing. It captures an undeniably beautiful world frozen in time, not taking notice of the passing hordes of barbarians or Communists. Kaminsky is also wonderful at presenting the intrigue, the atmosphere and the complexities of Moscow during and after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
The use of arctic for mysteries was relatively rare in the past, as far as I'm aware. Now we have Boris Akunin and the likes (Scandinavian Crime Fiction). In 1989 I don't remember anything remotely similar.
I've been always a sucker for the use of "place" as a literary device. The setting, the place, the local geography in many cases is as important as the plot. It is fair to say that the geographical elements set these novels apart and account for a large part of their popularity. For me that's one of the explanations for the Scandinavian Crime Fiction recent popularity, which sometimes also uses the geography artifact as a character as well and to good advantage (vide Arnaldur Indridason's novels set in Iceland).
There's something about these frigid landscapes that makes the Crime Fiction setting ideal for it.
Stuart M. Kaminsky was not on my radar. Now he is. Rostnikov is also very fond of Ed McBain novels... What's there not to like about a guy like him?
There was only two quibbles: Plot predictability and one of the sub-plots taking place in Moscow does not seem to add anything new to the novel.
Now I've got to find out whether there are any more of these Rostnikov's novels out there." - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have been thoroughly enjoying my reread of the Inspector Rostnikov series of mysteries, but I must add that this particular entry is the best of the bunch. My rating might be partly based upon the author not identifying the murderer until the last few pages, and that the revelation of who killed the Commissar is a surprise, but not entirely: the author writes SO WELL, and his characters are old friends, well-developed, like-able. Recommended.
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- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A well written whodunit in a Russian background with a subtle sense of humour..
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- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Here is what I want to say to the author: Dear Mr. Kaminsky, I love, LOVE , your Inspector Rostnikov series. But I am puzzled about one thing: on the one hand you seem to know very intimate details of Russian/Soviet life (and I should know - I am from there), and on the other hand - how come such evident mistakes in some simple Russian phrases, while more complicated ones are written correctly? I don't get it (Get a good Russian editor, Mr. Kaminsky!!!) Or the fact that a person is addressed as simply "Comrade" - no way, not in Gorbachev times, not since 1930s probably. You can address somebody "Comrade" with a name following, like Comrade Rostnikov, etc., but not just by itself - "Comrade". It is just not "Russian"-like. Or a wife calling her husband by his first name followed by his patronymic (e.g. "Alexander Ivanovich") - also, very false, a wife would never address her husband with the two names, just the first one.... I have to research on Stuart Kaminsky, his background, and what made him an expert on Russian/Soviet life - because most of it is so true, but then, again, such strange aberrations. Plus, in this edition of the book (Charles Scribner's Sons/ New York) even English text was poorly edited, I found quite a few mistakes in simple English words. I still love this series and will continue reading until I have read all its books. It has a certain appeal that makes me read on and on, despite the mistakes.--
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- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5
Tedious in the beginning; faitly interesting in the middle; not very exciting by the end. Sorry, just not my cup of tea.