What do you think?
Rate this book
Porfiry Rostnikov #2
Black Knight in Red Square
A terrorist at the Moscow Film Festival plots an international incident
Built in the twilight of the Tsarist state, Moscow’s Metropole Hotel is a poignant reminder of the decadence of the last regime. But today its corridors are musty, its rooms are dank, and now its restaurant is the scene of a quadruple murder. Four men—one American, one Japanese, and two citizens of Mother Russia—share a meal of smoked salmon, caviar, and two bottles of vodka. In the morning, all are found dead, blood on their lips and faces contorted in pain. To keep the killings under wraps, the Kremlin hands the investigation over to famously discreet police investigator Porfiry Rostnikov. A terrorist is targeting foreigners to embarrass the Soviet state, and the killer will happily sacrifice any Russian who gets in the way.
Built in the twilight of the Tsarist state, Moscow’s Metropole Hotel is a poignant reminder of the decadence of the last regime. But today its corridors are musty, its rooms are dank, and now its restaurant is the scene of a quadruple murder. Four men—one American, one Japanese, and two citizens of Mother Russia—share a meal of smoked salmon, caviar, and two bottles of vodka. In the morning, all are found dead, blood on their lips and faces contorted in pain. To keep the killings under wraps, the Kremlin hands the investigation over to famously discreet police investigator Porfiry Rostnikov. A terrorist is targeting foreigners to embarrass the Soviet state, and the killer will happily sacrifice any Russian who gets in the way.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1984
179 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Stuart M. Kaminsky
159 books213 followersStuart M. Kaminsky wrote 50 published novels, 5 biographies, 4 textbooks and 35 short stories. He also has screenwriting credits on four produced films including ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, ENEMY TERRITORY, A WOMAN IN THE WIND and HIDDEN FEARS. He was a past president of the Mystery Writers of America and was nominated for six prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Awards including one for his short story “Snow” in 1999. He won an Edgar for his novel A COLD RED SUNRISE, which was also awarded the Prix De Roman D’Aventure of France. He was nominated for both a Shamus Award and a McCavity Readers Choice Award.
Kaminsky wrote several popular series including those featuring Lew Fonesca, Abraham Lieberman, Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, and Toby Peters. He also wrote two original "Rockford Files " novels. He was the 50th annual recipient of the Grandmaster 2006 for Lifetime Achievement from the Mystery Writers of America.
Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 2007.
His nonfiction books including BASIC FILMMAKING, WRITING FOR TELEVISION, AMERICAN FILM GENRES, and biographies of GARY COOPER, CLINT EASTWOOD, JOHN HUSTON and DON SIEGEL. BEHIND THE MYSTERY was published by Hot House Press in 2005 and nominated by Mystery Writers of America for Best Critical/Biographical book in 2006.
Kaminsky held a B.S. in Journalism and an M.A. in English from The University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Speech from Northwestern University where he taught for 16 years before becoming a Professor at Florida State. where he headed the Graduate Conservatory in Film and Television Production. He left Florida State in 1994 to pursue full-time writing.
Kaminsky and his wife, Enid Perll, moved to St. Louis, Missouri in March 2009 to await a liver transplant to treat the hepatitis he contracted as an army medic in the late 1950s in France. He suffered a stroke two days after their arrival in St. Louis, which made him ineligible for a transplant. He died on October 9, 2009.
Kaminsky wrote several popular series including those featuring Lew Fonesca, Abraham Lieberman, Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, and Toby Peters. He also wrote two original "Rockford Files " novels. He was the 50th annual recipient of the Grandmaster 2006 for Lifetime Achievement from the Mystery Writers of America.
Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 2007.
His nonfiction books including BASIC FILMMAKING, WRITING FOR TELEVISION, AMERICAN FILM GENRES, and biographies of GARY COOPER, CLINT EASTWOOD, JOHN HUSTON and DON SIEGEL. BEHIND THE MYSTERY was published by Hot House Press in 2005 and nominated by Mystery Writers of America for Best Critical/Biographical book in 2006.
Kaminsky held a B.S. in Journalism and an M.A. in English from The University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Speech from Northwestern University where he taught for 16 years before becoming a Professor at Florida State. where he headed the Graduate Conservatory in Film and Television Production. He left Florida State in 1994 to pursue full-time writing.
Kaminsky and his wife, Enid Perll, moved to St. Louis, Missouri in March 2009 to await a liver transplant to treat the hepatitis he contracted as an army medic in the late 1950s in France. He suffered a stroke two days after their arrival in St. Louis, which made him ineligible for a transplant. He died on October 9, 2009.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
August 19, 2024
Excellent!
American novelist, Stuart M. Kaminsky, began his Cold War series, the Inspector Rostnikov Mysteries in 1981.
Being a highly successful policeman who’s known to get the job done, Rostnikov sometimes pushes a political button or two when he feels that the government’s agenda is blocking him from doing his job.
When political terrorists embarrass the government by blowing up national icons while the country is filled with foreigners who’ve arrived in Moscow for a film festival, Rostnikov is placed under pressure by the KGB.
Feeling scapegoated, but determined to find the fiends, he is forced into playing a dangerous game of politics.
This is the second book in the series and just as great. Kaminsky gives you the political feel and smell of 1980’s Russia. Rostnikov makes you think you are reading about a soulful hero from Gogol or Dostoevsky.
This book deservedly gets five stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
American novelist, Stuart M. Kaminsky, began his Cold War series, the Inspector Rostnikov Mysteries in 1981.
Being a highly successful policeman who’s known to get the job done, Rostnikov sometimes pushes a political button or two when he feels that the government’s agenda is blocking him from doing his job.
When political terrorists embarrass the government by blowing up national icons while the country is filled with foreigners who’ve arrived in Moscow for a film festival, Rostnikov is placed under pressure by the KGB.
Feeling scapegoated, but determined to find the fiends, he is forced into playing a dangerous game of politics.
This is the second book in the series and just as great. Kaminsky gives you the political feel and smell of 1980’s Russia. Rostnikov makes you think you are reading about a soulful hero from Gogol or Dostoevsky.
This book deservedly gets five stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
June 22, 2023
"“You are treading down a dangerous path, Inspector,” he said finally. “It is the nature of existence to recognize and face random disaster that might come our way,” said Rostnikov. “We are but the servants of the state and must not let our individuality stand in the way of the good of the Soviet people.” “Irony is a dangerous weapon,” hissed Drozhkin. “It has no handle. You hold it by the blade, and with one slip you can become its victim.” “Irony is based on an understanding between two people,” Rostnikov countered.... “If someone perceives irony, he does so on the assumption that the person presenting that irony intended it to be so read. For myself, Comrade Colonel, I lack the wit and education to indulge in irony.”"
It is the era when Ronald Regan was calling the U.S.S.R. names, and Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov had many challenges in doing his job as a Moscow police inspector.
"She moved to the window, pushed the grubby curtain aside, and looked out at the city. Somewhere they were looking for her, that barrel of an inspector and the lean monk of a detective she had deceived at the Metropole."
This is a hunt for the woman who is behind a massive terrorist plot that involves a Moscow film festival. Though this is listed as a Porfiry Rostnikov mystery it is as much about his rather strange “sergeant,” Emil Karpo (also known at headquarters as “the vampire”)
.
"He was not even sure what he was searching for, but he needed a link, a link to the dark-eyed woman who had made both him and Rostnikov look foolish. That confident woman, he was sure, was a threat to what he believed in and lived for, and he felt that something drew them together. He sensed that she might very well be every bit as dedicated to her beliefs as he was to his. She was far too formidable to be allowed to walk the streets of Moscow."
"“I think,” said Karpo, passing Rostnikov a folder, “she means to plant bombs in key places in Moscow, if she has not already done so.”"
"“What do we have on this dark-eyed woman of mystery?” “She exists,” Karpo said. “Yes,” agreed Rostnikov. “We both saw her at the Metropole, but where is she now and what is she up to? Does she have anyone helping her? How can she hide? Where?”"
"He knew that she would not take his inquiry as the false solicitude of the underling who coveted his superior’s job, for the facts were clear. Rostnikov would never be more than a chief inspector in the MVD, a position higher than might be expected of him considering his inability to control his tongue, his frequent impetuousness, and his politically hazardous Jewish wife—a wife who had no interest at all in either religion or politics. Fortunately, Rostnikov had no ambition; he was politically uninterested. His job was to catch criminals and occasionally punish them at the moment of capture."
There is a lot of “police work” in this thriller and some time spent giving us a more complete picture of both Rostnikov and Karpo. Yet the narrative moves along in a satisfactory way and the twisting threads lead to some surprises before everything is pulled together.
Very much of its era, Kaminsky obviously enjoys playing with those tropes.
3.5*
It is the era when Ronald Regan was calling the U.S.S.R. names, and Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov had many challenges in doing his job as a Moscow police inspector.
"She moved to the window, pushed the grubby curtain aside, and looked out at the city. Somewhere they were looking for her, that barrel of an inspector and the lean monk of a detective she had deceived at the Metropole."
This is a hunt for the woman who is behind a massive terrorist plot that involves a Moscow film festival. Though this is listed as a Porfiry Rostnikov mystery it is as much about his rather strange “sergeant,” Emil Karpo (also known at headquarters as “the vampire”)
.
"He was not even sure what he was searching for, but he needed a link, a link to the dark-eyed woman who had made both him and Rostnikov look foolish. That confident woman, he was sure, was a threat to what he believed in and lived for, and he felt that something drew them together. He sensed that she might very well be every bit as dedicated to her beliefs as he was to his. She was far too formidable to be allowed to walk the streets of Moscow."
"“I think,” said Karpo, passing Rostnikov a folder, “she means to plant bombs in key places in Moscow, if she has not already done so.”"
"“What do we have on this dark-eyed woman of mystery?” “She exists,” Karpo said. “Yes,” agreed Rostnikov. “We both saw her at the Metropole, but where is she now and what is she up to? Does she have anyone helping her? How can she hide? Where?”"
"He knew that she would not take his inquiry as the false solicitude of the underling who coveted his superior’s job, for the facts were clear. Rostnikov would never be more than a chief inspector in the MVD, a position higher than might be expected of him considering his inability to control his tongue, his frequent impetuousness, and his politically hazardous Jewish wife—a wife who had no interest at all in either religion or politics. Fortunately, Rostnikov had no ambition; he was politically uninterested. His job was to catch criminals and occasionally punish them at the moment of capture."
There is a lot of “police work” in this thriller and some time spent giving us a more complete picture of both Rostnikov and Karpo. Yet the narrative moves along in a satisfactory way and the twisting threads lead to some surprises before everything is pulled together.
Very much of its era, Kaminsky obviously enjoys playing with those tropes.
3.5*
November 10, 2020
Why did the Soviet Union implode and the Berlin Wall crumble overnight? For many conservative Americans, the answer is Ronald Reagan. But level-headed analysts have debunked that thesis. In fact, the roots of the crisis that came to a head in the fall of the USSR lay deep in Soviet society. And Edgar Award-winning mystery author Stuart Kaminsky ably explored those roots in his sixteen-book series of Soviet-era detective novels featuring Chief Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov. In Black Knight in Red Square, the second novel in the series, the future collapse of the USSR is obvious to those with eyes to see.
This is not a typical detective novel
A detective novel ordinarily pits a dogged and resourceful investigator against a wily criminal. And in Black Knight in Red Square, Inspector Rostnikov duels with a notorious international terrorist who might have given Carlos the Jackal a run for his money. But the nameless woman who threatens to blow up prominent landmarks in Moscow is not the Inspector’s most dangerous adversary. That would be Colonel Drozhkin of the KGB.
The bodies are falling at the Metropole Hotel
As the novel opens, left-wing filmmakers from across the world are gathering for the Moscow Film Festival. The most prominent of them are housed at the famous Metropole Hotel—and there four bodies suddenly turn up. As Inspector Rostnikov and his team set out to investigate, it quickly becomes evident that the dead visitors all have links to a “pitifully small” terrorist group called World Liberation.
The terrorists have come to Moscow to demonstrate their contempt for Communism and the Soviet state, kill several thousand filmgoers, and disrupt the festival, squarely under the eyes of the world’s press. Naturally, the threat to the state draws the attention of the KGB. And Colonel Drozhkin’s priority is not to solve the murders but to cover up the terrorist activity to avoid embarrassing the Kremlin. So, from the moment the inspector is summoned to the colonel’s office, the two are at loggerheads.
A complex story on two parallel tracks
Kaminsky’s story is complicated, involving Inspector Rostnikov on two parallel tracks. On one, he and his team of two rush to identify and arrest the murderer before she and her allies can blow up Lenin’s Tomb and other Moscow landmarks. On the other track, Rostnikov methodically works to set up a trap for the corrupt Colonel Drozhkin by taping conversations that incriminate him. And in the background, the long-suffering Soviet people labor under the corruption and inefficiency that foretells the collapse of the USSR.
A wounded veteran and weightlifter
Porfiry Rostnikov is an engaging character. He’s fifty-two, a wounded veteran of the Great Patriotic War, married, with a son in the army. To compensate for the limp from his wound at the Battle of Rostov, he has taken up weight-lifting and become uncommonly strong. As a Chief Inspector, Rostnikov has risen to his limit in the MVD. Because his wife is Jewish, he knows he will never be named to the more senior position of procurator in the Ministry of Justice. And that suits him just fine. He’s doing work he loves.
The inspector’s two assistants—humorless, relentless Emil Karpo, known to his colleagues as “the Vampire,” and young Sasha Tkach—are both fascinating in their own right, and we learn a good deal about both of them in this novel. Kaminsky writes in the omniscient third person, entering the innermost thoughts of even minor characters. So, we readers know a lot more about what’s going on than Inspector Rostnikov. Thus, we can closely follow his thoughts as he stumbles toward a solution to the two great puzzles he’s been saddled with.
The future collapse of the USSR seems unavoidable
The novel is set in 1981, when Leonid Brezhnev is in his last year of life. The alcoholic, pill-popping General Secretary of the Communist Party is dying, and the empire over which he presides is coming apart at the seams. Soviet troops are struggling in an unwinnable war in Afghanistan which the state strains to keep hidden from the public. Corruption reigns in every quarter, from the highest echelons of the Party to the shops and factories where “the state pretends to pay the workers, and the workers pretend to work.”
Meanwhile, the nearly half-million men and women of the KGB guard the levers of power to preserve what is theirs above all. Doubtless, there are few in the country who foresee bigger trouble ahead, for that is merely human nature. But from the perspective of the four decades that have elapsed since the time portrayed in the novel, the future collapse of the USSR seems unavoidable.
About the author
The late Stuart Kaminsky (1934-2009) received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America three years before he died. In addition to the long-running (1981-2010) series featuring Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, Kaminsky wrote two other mystery series. All told, he was the author of more than 60 novels, as well as story collections and nonfiction works.
This is not a typical detective novel
A detective novel ordinarily pits a dogged and resourceful investigator against a wily criminal. And in Black Knight in Red Square, Inspector Rostnikov duels with a notorious international terrorist who might have given Carlos the Jackal a run for his money. But the nameless woman who threatens to blow up prominent landmarks in Moscow is not the Inspector’s most dangerous adversary. That would be Colonel Drozhkin of the KGB.
The bodies are falling at the Metropole Hotel
As the novel opens, left-wing filmmakers from across the world are gathering for the Moscow Film Festival. The most prominent of them are housed at the famous Metropole Hotel—and there four bodies suddenly turn up. As Inspector Rostnikov and his team set out to investigate, it quickly becomes evident that the dead visitors all have links to a “pitifully small” terrorist group called World Liberation.
The terrorists have come to Moscow to demonstrate their contempt for Communism and the Soviet state, kill several thousand filmgoers, and disrupt the festival, squarely under the eyes of the world’s press. Naturally, the threat to the state draws the attention of the KGB. And Colonel Drozhkin’s priority is not to solve the murders but to cover up the terrorist activity to avoid embarrassing the Kremlin. So, from the moment the inspector is summoned to the colonel’s office, the two are at loggerheads.
A complex story on two parallel tracks
Kaminsky’s story is complicated, involving Inspector Rostnikov on two parallel tracks. On one, he and his team of two rush to identify and arrest the murderer before she and her allies can blow up Lenin’s Tomb and other Moscow landmarks. On the other track, Rostnikov methodically works to set up a trap for the corrupt Colonel Drozhkin by taping conversations that incriminate him. And in the background, the long-suffering Soviet people labor under the corruption and inefficiency that foretells the collapse of the USSR.
A wounded veteran and weightlifter
Porfiry Rostnikov is an engaging character. He’s fifty-two, a wounded veteran of the Great Patriotic War, married, with a son in the army. To compensate for the limp from his wound at the Battle of Rostov, he has taken up weight-lifting and become uncommonly strong. As a Chief Inspector, Rostnikov has risen to his limit in the MVD. Because his wife is Jewish, he knows he will never be named to the more senior position of procurator in the Ministry of Justice. And that suits him just fine. He’s doing work he loves.
The inspector’s two assistants—humorless, relentless Emil Karpo, known to his colleagues as “the Vampire,” and young Sasha Tkach—are both fascinating in their own right, and we learn a good deal about both of them in this novel. Kaminsky writes in the omniscient third person, entering the innermost thoughts of even minor characters. So, we readers know a lot more about what’s going on than Inspector Rostnikov. Thus, we can closely follow his thoughts as he stumbles toward a solution to the two great puzzles he’s been saddled with.
The future collapse of the USSR seems unavoidable
The novel is set in 1981, when Leonid Brezhnev is in his last year of life. The alcoholic, pill-popping General Secretary of the Communist Party is dying, and the empire over which he presides is coming apart at the seams. Soviet troops are struggling in an unwinnable war in Afghanistan which the state strains to keep hidden from the public. Corruption reigns in every quarter, from the highest echelons of the Party to the shops and factories where “the state pretends to pay the workers, and the workers pretend to work.”
Meanwhile, the nearly half-million men and women of the KGB guard the levers of power to preserve what is theirs above all. Doubtless, there are few in the country who foresee bigger trouble ahead, for that is merely human nature. But from the perspective of the four decades that have elapsed since the time portrayed in the novel, the future collapse of the USSR seems unavoidable.
About the author
The late Stuart Kaminsky (1934-2009) received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America three years before he died. In addition to the long-running (1981-2010) series featuring Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, Kaminsky wrote two other mystery series. All told, he was the author of more than 60 novels, as well as story collections and nonfiction works.
June 21, 2020
Love these books!
June 3, 2021
Porfiry is a good main detective— intelligent, still compassionate in a totally unjust system. I really wanted for things to go well for him. It’s pretty bleak though, as life under the late USSR seems to have been (and modern Russia is becoming?) probably 3-1/2 stars with plenty of intrigue and suspense and an egotistical, amoral criminal.
May 30, 2018
Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov is charged with finding the killers of a number of people during the Moscow film festival. The KGB are also involved, mainly in following the Inspector and his team. He is also practicing for a weightlifting competition. He wants to do his best and at the same time keep on the right side of the KGB. Interesting storyline, good characters.
May 2, 2019
This is the second in the Inspector Rostnikov series. There has been a murder, a poisoning of an American, two soviets and a Japanese citizen at a hotel in Moscow. The American was a journalist reporting on the Moscow Film Festival. The other victims were also connected with the festival. Is this just an isolated incident? Could there be a nefarious person or group who seeks to spoil an important cultural event?
Chief Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov and his trusted assistants, the idealistic Sasha Tkach and dedicated Emil Karpo set off to investigate. From swank hotels, to meeting with prostitutes in dark Metro Stations, and following suspicious westerners to theaters and Moscow landmarks. Something is certainty going on..
Thanks to a brief meeting with the KGB's Colonel Drozhkin, Porfiry is informed that there may be western capitalist fanatics loose within the city of Moscow. Now, not only does he have to solve the murder, but he is being tasked with preventing any terrorist plots against the Film Festival.
I'm real taken with the writing, the way Kaminski draws me into the whole story. And, there's even a bit of the old noir detective fiction. Here Tkach is interviewing a suspect at her hotel room:
“I haven’t been much help, have I?” she said, rising slowly.
“You’ve told me what was necessary.”
“If you’d like to come back tonight after dinner and ask more questions,” she said, taking a step toward him, “I’ll be right here.”
Now Tkach smiled, and his smile stopped her. The game-playing halted, for she had seen something that told her things had not gone as she had guided them. That smile was quite knowing and much older than the face of the good-looking young detective.
“I have to work tonight,” he said, stepping past her. “But I may have more questions. And perhaps next time you will answer with the truth.”
Without looking at her he crossed the room, opened the door, and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him. At this point, he had no idea whether or not she had told the truth. He’d had no reason to be suspicious until he gave her know what you are hiding. Tkach didn’t know that it was the smile of all detectives from Tokyo to Calcutta to San Francisco to Moscow. He had seen her play her scene out, then had given her the knowing smile, and for an instant she had broken, showing that there was something more behind those eyes and that lovely facade. He had no idea what she might be hiding or why. He would simply give the information to Rostnikov and let him worry about it."
Chief Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov and his trusted assistants, the idealistic Sasha Tkach and dedicated Emil Karpo set off to investigate. From swank hotels, to meeting with prostitutes in dark Metro Stations, and following suspicious westerners to theaters and Moscow landmarks. Something is certainty going on..
Thanks to a brief meeting with the KGB's Colonel Drozhkin, Porfiry is informed that there may be western capitalist fanatics loose within the city of Moscow. Now, not only does he have to solve the murder, but he is being tasked with preventing any terrorist plots against the Film Festival.
I'm real taken with the writing, the way Kaminski draws me into the whole story. And, there's even a bit of the old noir detective fiction. Here Tkach is interviewing a suspect at her hotel room:
“I haven’t been much help, have I?” she said, rising slowly.
“You’ve told me what was necessary.”
“If you’d like to come back tonight after dinner and ask more questions,” she said, taking a step toward him, “I’ll be right here.”
Now Tkach smiled, and his smile stopped her. The game-playing halted, for she had seen something that told her things had not gone as she had guided them. That smile was quite knowing and much older than the face of the good-looking young detective.
“I have to work tonight,” he said, stepping past her. “But I may have more questions. And perhaps next time you will answer with the truth.”
Without looking at her he crossed the room, opened the door, and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him. At this point, he had no idea whether or not she had told the truth. He’d had no reason to be suspicious until he gave her know what you are hiding. Tkach didn’t know that it was the smile of all detectives from Tokyo to Calcutta to San Francisco to Moscow. He had seen her play her scene out, then had given her the knowing smile, and for an instant she had broken, showing that there was something more behind those eyes and that lovely facade. He had no idea what she might be hiding or why. He would simply give the information to Rostnikov and let him worry about it."
October 4, 2017
Four people are killed in a fancy Moscow Hotel during the Moscow Film Festival, and Rostnikov and his crew realize that the deaths are linked to a terrorist group that the KGB have had their eyes on. Rostnikov is given the job of tracking down the terrorists but he knows that he will be the fall guy if things go wrong.
Good characters, but a couple of wonky plot points and somewhat unsatisfying ending (which one kind of expects given the Russian setting...).
This was book #49 on our 2017 Read-alouds List. This was also a "Lutrecia book."
Good characters, but a couple of wonky plot points and somewhat unsatisfying ending (which one kind of expects given the Russian setting...).
This was book #49 on our 2017 Read-alouds List. This was also a "Lutrecia book."
March 25, 2016
Brilliantly done...
January 28, 2020
Surprisingly endearing characters in an interesting time and place.
May 12, 2025
A quick, enjoyable read following Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov through his politically sensitive murder investigation.
July 21, 2025
Summary: Rostnikov’s team races to stop a terrorist organization from causing mayhem at an international film festival.
An International Film Festival is about to open in Moscow. Journalists and filmmakers from all over the world are gathering. And four men, an American, a Japanese, and two Russians who ate together are dead in their rooms, all killed by a deadly poison. Rostnikov and his team get the case. Results are expected swiftly, both from within his own bureaucracy and from the KGB. His nemesis there, Colonel Drozhkin is looking for a way to bring Rostnikov down. In sum, the potential for career-ending failure is great.
Rostnikov and Karpo meet with the widow of the American, who doesn’t seem especially bereaved. They later learn that the real widow is in Australia. They realize that they likely had met the person behind the killings, who was taking their measure. And that signals that the poisonings were a mere prelude. Karpo, in his methodical way, devotes himself to tracking her down.
They figure out she has recruited a German journalist and a British filmmaker to help her. Tkach and Rostnikov track them while the team tries to unravel her ultimate scheme, which is to bomb key Moscow sites, including Lenin’s tomb.
Amid this, Rostnikov pursues a strategy to counter Drozhkin and get something he deeply desires. And he squeezes in a personal goal–to compete in a weightlifting competition, despite an injured leg. To the surprise of judges, he wins, wowing them by a humorous but impressive mistake.
There is an element of suspense in the effort to prevent acts in which the terrorists have the initiative. At the same time, we get to watch a subtler form of intrigue play out between Rostnikov and Drozhkin. It all makes for an exciting conclusion to a well plotted mystery. Meanwhile, we find ourselves caring for each of those on Rostnikov’s team, any who may be the target of a woman who will not hesitate to kill any in her way.
An International Film Festival is about to open in Moscow. Journalists and filmmakers from all over the world are gathering. And four men, an American, a Japanese, and two Russians who ate together are dead in their rooms, all killed by a deadly poison. Rostnikov and his team get the case. Results are expected swiftly, both from within his own bureaucracy and from the KGB. His nemesis there, Colonel Drozhkin is looking for a way to bring Rostnikov down. In sum, the potential for career-ending failure is great.
Rostnikov and Karpo meet with the widow of the American, who doesn’t seem especially bereaved. They later learn that the real widow is in Australia. They realize that they likely had met the person behind the killings, who was taking their measure. And that signals that the poisonings were a mere prelude. Karpo, in his methodical way, devotes himself to tracking her down.
They figure out she has recruited a German journalist and a British filmmaker to help her. Tkach and Rostnikov track them while the team tries to unravel her ultimate scheme, which is to bomb key Moscow sites, including Lenin’s tomb.
Amid this, Rostnikov pursues a strategy to counter Drozhkin and get something he deeply desires. And he squeezes in a personal goal–to compete in a weightlifting competition, despite an injured leg. To the surprise of judges, he wins, wowing them by a humorous but impressive mistake.
There is an element of suspense in the effort to prevent acts in which the terrorists have the initiative. At the same time, we get to watch a subtler form of intrigue play out between Rostnikov and Drozhkin. It all makes for an exciting conclusion to a well plotted mystery. Meanwhile, we find ourselves caring for each of those on Rostnikov’s team, any who may be the target of a woman who will not hesitate to kill any in her way.
January 6, 2020
Stuart M. Kaminsky (R.I.P.) is one of my favorite mystery writers; and two of his detectives, Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov and Toby Peters, are high on my favorite detectives list. Many years ago I listened to the Rostnikov and Peters series on tape (yes, books-on-tape). I decided that I would like to reread (read?) them. Black Knight in Red Square is the second in the Rostnikov series. In this story, Inspector Rostnikov is in the MVD (part of the Soviet Police) sometime before the fall of the Soviet Union. There is an international film festival going on and several of the important attendees turn up dead. Although this sort of thing with foreign guests is normally handled by the KGB, Rostnikov has been assigned. The inspector and his two associates Emil Karpo ("the Vampire") and Sasha Tkach have their hands full trying to solve the murders while also trying to prevent a possible terrorist attack. Black Knight is an enthralling procedural with insights into Russian life and Soviet times. I highly recommend it.
July 18, 2022
I knew even before opening the book that it would be four stars, so I am likely very prejudiced by enjoyment and not being very objective.
In this particular novel, Kaminsky’s work as a professor of film studies comes through very strongly as the setting for the novel is an international film festival in Moscow. This background really works for the novel and I think that Kaminsky does a great job with it.
The pacing in the novel was spot-on and the writing is very well done. The novel, which on the surface is just a little mystery thriller, is actually a bit more significant when read as a film theory. The fact that I enjoyed this and picked up on a lot of this speaks to how skillfully this was all done! I definitely recommend this to readers and I do intend to read more in Kaminsky’s series. Also, there is a pet cat in the novel.
In this particular novel, Kaminsky’s work as a professor of film studies comes through very strongly as the setting for the novel is an international film festival in Moscow. This background really works for the novel and I think that Kaminsky does a great job with it.
The pacing in the novel was spot-on and the writing is very well done. The novel, which on the surface is just a little mystery thriller, is actually a bit more significant when read as a film theory. The fact that I enjoyed this and picked up on a lot of this speaks to how skillfully this was all done! I definitely recommend this to readers and I do intend to read more in Kaminsky’s series. Also, there is a pet cat in the novel.
April 24, 2021
The quality of this series continues - I say, despite the fact I'm reading somewhat out of order... Earlier in the series, this volume develops the relationship with the KGB and the earlier years of Karpo. Very well done and my only minor reservation is the abrupt ending - I was expecting more story, though I can understand having a breaking point at this time. Looking forward to more of Porfiry.
May 2, 2022
This is an easy read thriller, but not really a murder mystery. Three or four hard-boiled detective stories happen to Rostinikov and his team throughout the book as they hunt down a Jackal-like terrorist (typical for the 80s I guess).
Kaminisky's Moscow just seemed to be made up of street names here, and I doubt planting bombs in Lenin's Tomb is this easy. With Tom Clancy0like wordsoup, detailing each minutiae step of planning, it might stand out, but here, it didn't.
Kaminisky's Moscow just seemed to be made up of street names here, and I doubt planting bombs in Lenin's Tomb is this easy. With Tom Clancy0like wordsoup, detailing each minutiae step of planning, it might stand out, but here, it didn't.
April 20, 2020
Interesting police procedual set in Moscow in the 1960s. The interplay between the police and the KGB, the conditions that prevailed during that time and the political implications of the crimes are fascinating.
The only negative is the abrupt ending that is an obvious setup for the next in the series.
The only negative is the abrupt ending that is an obvious setup for the next in the series.
October 4, 2020
Excellent sequel to the first in the series! Rostnikov's character is more enhanced. The reader learns about his marriage, wife, his son, and what happens when the KGB threatens them. The reader also learns more about Tkach and Karpo. Lots to like! The terrorists are loose and it's up to Rostnikov and his team to stop them! Fabulous!
April 21, 2022
3.5 stars. Well written, highly entertaining entry in the detective Porfiry Rotnikov. Rostnikov and his two underlings Karpo and Sasha investigate the murder of a American journalist in Moscow, which in turn has them tracking down three foreign terrorists planning attacks during the Moscow Film Festival while staying one step ahead of the KGB.
March 22, 2024
Enjoyable
An enjoyable but unremarkable mystery set during the Cold War era in Moscow. The characters are quite well drawn and the plot moves along nicely. There really isn’t a lot of mystery nor is there any meaningful measure of tension. A decent read that you will likely shortly forget.
An enjoyable but unremarkable mystery set during the Cold War era in Moscow. The characters are quite well drawn and the plot moves along nicely. There really isn’t a lot of mystery nor is there any meaningful measure of tension. A decent read that you will likely shortly forget.
October 14, 2018
I found this one a little more readable than 'Death of a Dissident' but it still came up well short of enticing me to read any more of the series. The main characters remain uninteresting and the plot didn't seem terribly well crafted. Time to move on.
April 25, 2023
I realized, soon after I started this, that I read it years ago. But I am very glad I reread it! I enjoy the development of the main characters, Rostnikov, Karpo, Tkach, and the police procedure in Soviet Moscow.
May 7, 2023
I've read some books written around the same period (1980s) that can read nowadays as dated (in their narration and style). I don't really notice that with this series. The books are quick reads and interesting.
April 5, 2025
The language of this book is a little outdated. There are lots of archaic words and phrases.
The detective in itself is interesting but it just not exactly the kind of detectives I like.
It shows how politics and power are involved in many lives.
The detective in itself is interesting but it just not exactly the kind of detectives I like.
It shows how politics and power are involved in many lives.
January 14, 2018
I will read everything written by this author
October 10, 2018
Porfiry Rostnikov thwarts a terrorist plan to bomb public sites in Moscow.
November 27, 2018
Weak plot, not a patch on the first book in the series, still mostly enjoyable through which is good enough I guess.
March 16, 2019
I quite enjoyed this book. It is a pretty quick read. I will definitely continue reading this series.
September 22, 2019
An excellent story.
February 26, 2020
Interesting!! I love this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews