Hard Currency

By Stuart M. Kaminsky

As a serial killer terrorizes Moscow, Rostnikov gets an assignment in Havana.

The young girl leads her target into a park, planning on robbing him at knifepoint as soon as they are out of sight. But before she can strike, her quarry changes from a stooped middle-aged man to a feral beast, swinging a lead pipe with sadistic glee. By the time the police find the thief, her murderer is long gone.

He is the first serial killer in Russian history, responsible for at least forty deaths, and his exploits send Moscow into a frenzy. And as his colleagues hunt for the pipe-wielding maniac, police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov must depart for Havana, to investigate a Russian politician accused of murdering a young Cuban girl. The Russian people may have abandoned Communism, but for their man in Havana, this case will prove a trip down memory lane.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781784085940

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 Hard Currency

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this ninth book of the Rostnikov detective series we find The Washtub enroute to Cuba with Elena Timofeyeva, a new addition to the team. Their assignment is to confirm the guilt of a Russian citizen who has been accused of murder. Meanwhile, Karpo and Tkach are investigating what appears to be another installment in a series of grisly killings.The settings in both Cuba and Russia feel authentic, and I like how the author does not adhere to two-dimensional characters, but has them grow, adapt, and change. I enjoyed this installment and look forward to reading the next book.

[clara53_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Apart from the usual appeal of Inspector Rostnikov series, this book has revealed the unsettling truth of Cuba coming to terms with the emerging democratic Russia (as Rostnikov goes on assignment to Cuba).