Death of a Russian Priest

Just days after the end of the USSR, a mysterious priest becomes a martyr. In service of his beloved Orthodox Church, Father Merhum has spent decades battling Soviet apparatchiks and the KGB. Now the Soviet Union is gone, but the bureaucracy survives, and the aged priest makes plans to denounce Communist supporters, including some within the Church. He is on his way to Moscow when an assassin stops him with an ax. And as he dies, Merhum begs for forgiveness - a curious plea from a saint-to-be. The case falls to police inspectors Porfiry Rostnikov and Emil Karpo - a ruthless detective whose eerie appearance has earned him the nickname "the vampire." But as they dig into the past of this celebrated village priest, they uncover strange church secrets and a conspiracy that would ensure that though Soviet Russia is finished, corruption will never die. About the Author. Stuart M. Kaminsky (1934-2009) was one of the most prolific crime fiction authors of the last four decades. Born in Chicago, he spent his youth immersed in pulp fiction and classic cinema - two forms of popular entertainment which he would make his life's work. After college and a stint in the army, Kaminsky wrote film criticism and biographies of the great actors and directors of Hollywood's Golden Age. In 1977, when a planned biography of Charlton Heston fell through, Kaminsky wrote Bullet for a Star, his first Toby Peters novel, beginning a fiction career that would last the rest of his life. Kaminsky penned twenty-four novels starring the detective, whom he described as "the anti-Philip Marlowe." In 1981's Death of a Dissident, Kaminsky debuted Moscow police detective Porfiry Rostnikov, whose stories were praised for their accurate depiction of Soviet life. His other two series starred Abe Lieberman, a hardened Chicago cop, and Lew Fonseca, a process server. In all, Kaminsky wrote more than sixty novels. He died in St. Louis in 2009. Review quote. "Rostnikov's best outing since A Cold Red Sunrise." - Kirkus Reviews. "Never miss a Kaminsky book, and be especially sure not to miss Death of a Russian Priest." - Tony Hillerman. "Stuart Kaminsky evokes Russian life like a born Muscovite. . . . Don't miss this one. It's even better than his Edgar-winning A Cold Red Sunrise." - The Philadelphia Inquirer.