“Brilliant . . . enough enigmas within enigmas within enigmas to reel the mind.”
–The New Yorker

A triple murder in a Moscow amusement center: three corpses found frozen in the snow, faces and fingers missing. Chief homicide investigator Arkady Renko is brilliant, sensitive, honest, and cynical about everything except his profession. To identify the victims and uncover the truth, he must battle the KGB, FBI, and the New York City police as he pursues a rich, ruthless, and well-connected American fur dealer. Meanwhile, Renko is falling in love with a beautiful, headstrong dissident for whom he may risk everything.

“Once one gets going, one doesn’t want to stop. . . . The action is gritty, the plot complicated, [and] the overriding quality is intelligence.”
–The Washington Post

“Reminds you just how satisfying a smoothly turned thriller can be.” –The New York Times Book Review

“An unbelievable achievement . . . vivid, witty . . . completely fascinating.”
–Boston Herald American

“Gripping, romantic, and dazzlingly original.”
–Cosmopolitan

Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 1 members.