Fall of a Cosmonaut

By Stuart M. Kaminsky

Rostnikov confronts a mystery that stretches from Moscow to the stars.

Once, Russian children wanted to be cosmonauts like Yuri Gagarin. But the Soviet Union is dead, and the days of Gagarin's glory are long passed. For the men and women aboard the decaying Mir space station, life is an unending series of near-disasters. During one such breakdown, cosmonaut Tsimion Vladovka asks ground control to contact Moscow police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov if anything happens to him. And when Vladovka disappears a year after his safe return to Earth, Rostnikov is the only man who can find him.

A philosophical detective, Rostnikov has made a name for himself navigating the bureaucracies of the Kremlin. But never has he encountered anything like the labyrinth that is Star City, home of the Russian space program. Something has terrified the cosmonaut, and since he knows dangerous state secrets, he must be found, alive or dead. But if a man who braved outer space is scared, what chance does an earthbound detective have?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781784085926

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.

Reviews for Fall of a Cosmonaut

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable entry in the series, with yet more insight into the characters we've come to know. Oh, and there's also three murders, at least, that need solving. Well done.

[tadad_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've been reading this mystery series since some time in the early 1980s and I still enjoy them. The books may have lost a bit of je ne sais quoi in their backdrops as they moved from the Soviet Union to post-Soviet Russia: the political drama surrounding the investigations just seems less intense and convoluted. However, the characters I've come to enjoy are still there and, despite being largely unchanged with time, have avoided becoming caricatures of themselves. I'd recommend this series to those who enjoy whodunits.

[clara53_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One cannot fail to fall in love with this one-legged Moscow inspector - Porfiry Rostnikov, thoughtful, deliberate, never rushing, but always knowing, experienced and wise. It's the third book by S. Kaminsky that I've read and I am craving more. My only problem with this talented writer is that he should let an authentic Russian speaker edit the Russian phrases that he uses in the book, as he does have mistakes there; it's a shame he doesn't employ a Russian editor for this mystery series.

[effacina · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is getting harder to locate real mystery writers as opposed to mass murdering, psycho thrillers. Kaminsky books are always thoughtful and witty with good character development - and a good mystery. His prose is concise and I am never subjected to multiple page descriptions of a car chase. As usual, our Inspector is given a "detective" assignment with political limits. He must find the missing cosmonaut but not inquire into why he is missing - or the reason why all his planned interviewees seem to get murdered just before he finds them. Meanwhile his cohorts investigate a murder plot involving a stolen movie about Tolstoy and the murder of a parapsychologist. Kaminsky is always a joy to read. (Excerpt: when a suspect asks one of our detectives if he needs this information so he can imagine the murder, he answers: "I have no imagination. I gather facts. If imagination is needed I consult (my boss)."