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Murder On The Trans-Siberian Express
Stuart Kaminsky Book Review

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Plot Summary of Murder On The Trans-Siberian Express
"MURDER ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS
Stuart M Kaminsky
Mysterious, Oct 2001, 24.95, 277 pp.
ISBN: 0892967471

    Moscow Director of the Office of Special Investigation Igor Yaklovev assigns Chief Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov to ride the Trans-Siberian Express. Yaklovev expects Porfiry to seize a package allegedly containing a century -old document belonging to Czar Nicholas II. The Chief Inspector realizes that his superior has not told him most of what is going on, but he knows to do what he is told if he plans to keep his job.

    In Moscow, Porfiry's team is kept busy while he rides the train on its six thousand-mile voyage. Detectives Emil Karpo and Zelach go after kidnappers who abducted Acid the lead singer of the Naked Cossacks rock and roll band. However, more important to the police brass is that Acid is the son of an influential business mogul.

    Also in Moscow, Porfiry's son Detective Iosef Rostnikov and a peer Elena Timofeyeva hunt a serial killing woman whose attacks show no pattern. Instead, the maniacal female apparently attacks men with a knife at subway stations.

    The fourteenth Porfiry and associates Russian police procedural novel, MURDER ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS, is an entertaining and insightful tale. The story line shifts between the three major subplots, which in turn slows down the pace of each investigation. Still, all three tales are cleverly designed and the detectives seem authentic as they bring Russian life home to the reader. MURDER ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS is an engaging entry that will please sub-genre fans, but especially those followers of the series.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Murder On The Trans-Siberian Express
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 40%




How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50%
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - searching for $$$/treasure
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
Search for technology? - state secrets

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - government investigator
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Russia
Misc setting - moving train

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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