The man who walked like a bear : an Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov mystery

With his wife in the hospital, Porfiry Rostnikov tries to protect Moscow from chaos Porfiry and Sarah Rostnikov have been in love since the end of World War II, growing old together as the Soviet Union lurches towards modernity. Sarah is recovering from a brain operation, her police inspector husband at her side, when a bearlike man staggers into her hospital room. Hulking, naked, and insensible, he is about to leap out the window when Rostnikov talks him off the ledge. But before the orderlies take him away, the giant whispers a secret to the investigator. Someone has been stealing from the factory where he works. As he puzzles over the colossal madman{u2019}s clue, Rostnikov must also focus on his colleagues in the Moscow police, as their team contends with a sudden jump in crime. Rebels are planting bombs, teenagers are plotting assassinations, and the KGB lurks in every shadow. Surviving all this without Sarah by his side will be a challenge for the limping policeman, but he has long proven adept at talking down the Russian bear This “superb mystery-thriller” featuring a Moscow cop reminiscent of Arkady Renko delivers “riveting suspense” (Publishers Weekly). Porfiry Rostnikov and his wife Sarah have been in love for decades, since the end of World War II. Now the police inspector is by his wife’s bedside as she recuperates from a brain operation, when a massive naked man staggers into her hospital room, scared out of his mind, and tries to jump out the window. Rostnikov restrains the bearlike man, trying to calm him. As orderlies arrive to return the escapee to the mental ward, he cries out: “The devil came to devour the factory.” Rostnikov has far more important things on his mind than deciphering the ravings of a lunatic, first among them Sarah’s recovery. And of course crime has not stopped while he cares for his wife. Rebels are planting bombs, teenagers are plotting assassinations, and the KGB lurks in every shadow. But despite all these clamors, the man’s strange words continue to haunt Rostnikov—and compel him to investigate. With his Edgar Award–winning Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov mysteries, “Kaminsky has staked a claim to a piece of Russian turf . . . He captures the Russian scene and character in rich detail” (The Washington Post Book World). This “superb mystery-thriller” featuring a Moscow cop reminiscent of Arkady Renko delivers “riveting suspense” ( Publishers Weekly ). Porfiry Rostnikov and his wife Sarah have been in love for decades, since the end of World War II. Now the police inspector is by his wife’s bedside as she recuperates from a brain operation, when a massive naked man staggers into her hospital room, scared out of his mind, and tries to jump out the window. Rostnikov restrains the bearlike man, trying to calm him. As orderlies arrive to return the escapee to the mental ward, he cries out: “The devil came to devour the factory.” Rostnikov has far more important things on his mind than deciphering the ravings of a lunatic, first among them Sarah’s recovery. And of course crime has not stopped while he cares for his wife. Rebels are planting bombs, teenagers are plotting assassinations, and the KGB lurks in every shadow. But despite all these clamors, the man’s strange words continue to haunt Rostnikov—and compel him to investigate. With his Edgar Award–winning Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov mysteries, “Kaminsky has staked a claim to a piece of Russian turf . . . He captures the Russian scene and character in rich detail” ( The Washington Post Book World ). For all fans of Gorky Park and The Red Fox, the first mystery in the acclaimed series to star Russian Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov. Investigating the murder of dissident Granovsky should have been easy--except that it happened in Russia