Червената мъгла

Artie Cohen #1

by Reggie Nadelson

На 14 години той напуска Москва и емигрира в Израел.
На 19 — заминава за Ню Йорк, градът на мечтите му.
Сега Арти Коен е детектив в нюйоркската полиция.
Мрази миналото си, говори руски само по служба и избягва Брайтън бийч — руския квартал на Ню Йорк.
Но съдбата му готви мръсен удар. В телевизионно шоу на живо е застрелян бивш генерал от КГБ. Защо сега и защо в Ню Йорк? Арти Коен отново трябва да се гмурне в омразното минало. Москва на бесните далавери, мутрите и проститутките, наркотиците и ядрените мулета. Един град, в който нищо не е такова, каквото изглежда. А в края на разследването, като смъртоносен капан, го чака последната съветска тайна. Най-големият кошмар на Запада…

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction

270 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 1998

About the author

Reggie Nadelson is a New Yorker who also makes her home in London. She is a journalist and documentary film-maker. She is the author of the critically acclaimed series featuring Artie Cohen, Moscow-born New Yorker and the first great post-Cold War cop.

Series:
* Artie Cohen

Reviews

[Emy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not the type of book I read that often, I really enjoyed this book. As someone who studied Russian and lived in Russia, I can understand many of Artie's feelings about the country. The main story line is good, but the sub-plots and personalities are what made the story for me. I cared about Artie, his friends and family. I wanted him to find resolution as much as I wanted to understand what had happened. The disjointed Russian-English amused me as it was so familiar too... :)

Oh Sveta!

[Roy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this very disappointing, but it will remain on my bookshelf. Weird.

I was very impressed by Nadelson's essays in Marvelous Manhattan: Stories of the Restaurants, Bars, and Shops That Make This City Special. When a friend suggested we read this, the first of her novels, at the same time, and I saw it was set in New York City and Moscow -- two cities I have some experience with -- I gladly agreed.

The plot is sort of a techno thriller and murder mystery, focused on Russian gangs in the 1990s selling Soviet nuclear technology and materials. The protagonist, Artie, is a Russian-born NYC policeman, nearing a time when he's leaving the force, which gives him a foot in both worlds. The action is set off by the apparent assassination of a retired KGB officer who was going to meet Artie the next day, as a part of family friendships. Sounds like an okay plot.

For me, this book never worked, never even came close. It didn't seem to understand Russians families and culture. It definitely didn't reflect the way investigations into proliferation of nuclear materials takes place. It's Moscow isn't a place I'd recognize, and, shockingly, even the portrayal of New York City -- which Reggie Nadelson clearly loves -- never feels like a real place. I wondered how much of this reflected a female writer trying to write about her expectations of "tough guy" men, but the female characters also seemed caricatures.

I hope the writing and stories get better, though I'm unlikely to try them. It looks like the series that starts with this book has been popular through at least 6 books.

So why am I keeping it? Because I'll have to show many friends the sections on the FBI agent "Roy Pettus". Nadelson introduces him on page 24 as a specialist on nuclear proliferation, working out of the FBI Field Office in New York City. (BTW, this person acts like no FBI Special Agent I've ever known.) That's pretty close to my name, I spent a lot of time in the 1990s working on nuclear proliferation, and I've been in the FBI Field Station in Manhattan. That's an amazing coincidence that I'll be pointing out to friends for years to come.

But I won't be recommending the book.

[Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is my favorite in crime fiction. I've read the books out of order, and having finally read the very first one, I'm kind of glad I didn't start with it. Red Mercury Blues (or Red Hot Blues in the U.S) has all the ingredients of the later novels: feverish descriptions of New York's shabbier neighbourhoods and the melancholy of the Russian ex-pat community, complicated relationships, moral grey areas, hard-boiled writing. It's good, but perhaps a little too hard-boiled. Had I not known Artie beforehand I'd have had a hard time connecting with him. Things happen so fast and are so sparsely described it's hard to keep up. Artie comes across so many dead bodies and pretty women (sometimes pretty dead women) that we barely have time to register his reactions. The plot is improbable at times, and there are some jarring errors, but then again, the plot is never that important to me when reading Nadelson. I enjoyed meeting Artie, Tolya and Lily for the first time, knowing what I know about them. I still have a couple of the earlier novels left to read. It'll be interesting to see how the writing changes over time.

[Susan Ackland]

Having read later books in the series, I was looking for the origin story. In some ways, the book was just what I wanted. It gave me a clearer picture of the culture of the Russian mob resident in Brooklyn and the ways in which their ties to Russia were very close - at least in the 1980s. But the arc of the story was not satisfactory. The beginning and middle were leisurely and full but the end was a quickly described series of confusing and convoluted events. If I hadn't read some of Nadelson's other books already, I might not have continued after reading Red Mercury Blues. At this point, my 2 favorites are Red Hook and Londongrad.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not my style of book, but I planned to read it with a friend, so I finished it. To me, it read almost like a caricature of a Dick Tracy-like novel. It felt overdone… and just not my kind of book.

Oddly, we had picked this book to read because the same author wrote a really lovely book about things to do and see in Manhattan—Marvelous Manhattan. This book is also set in NYC, but it’s very unlike Marvelous Manhattan.

[Cynthia Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artie Cohen is a seductive edgy character; although so much happens in Reggie Nadelson's crime novels, it's a lot to keep up with, they're thought-provoking as well as just really well written crime-entertainment. I am going to read the whole series, although I read her most recent Londongrad first!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it as Red Hot Blues in the library although originally published in Great Britain with this title.
Author was alum of same high school I attended 7th and 8th grades (although I didn't know her at the time)so that made it all the more fun to read.
Oh yeah..... what did I think of the book? It was way cool and brought back a lot of memories of the Cold War days.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book -- absorbing writing with an appealingly fallible, very human central character (Nadelson has definitely read the biggies of roman noir), but all centered around a fairly uninteresting nuclear plot through which one has to suffer for the sake of the good storytelling.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, although a bit of a breathless ramble through Brighton Beach and Moscow. Artie Cohen certainly fills the bill as the jazz-loving, half-Jewish, emigre, ex cop. I'm going to stick the series for a while - hope it calms down.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better second time through. It’s debt to Chandler & Hitchcock more apparent. The two cases and a mistake... where does Red Mercury come from? I wasn’t as hung up on Lily this time, though she is captivating.
You have to feel for Artie as his world collapses.

[Gigi]

booklist

[Stewart Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

[Bill Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent end tot he troubles trilogy

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the title of this. The plot was engaging and Artie Cohen a great main character, would read more in this series. Maybe more 3 1/2 than 3.