The shocking murder of a priest brings Inspector Rostnikov to the town of Arkush with policeman Emil Karpo, a.k.a. "the Vampire," to investigate the crime.

Tension runs high as a Moscow cop investigates murder under the big top—from the Edgar Award–winning “Ed McBain of Mother Russia” (Kirkus Reviews).
 
Porfiry Rostnikov was one of the top detectives in Moscow—until he crossed the KGB. On the orders of the secret service, this bulldog cop is busted down to the minor crimes unit, where his talents are utterly wasted. When a drunk climbs the...

Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov travels to Siberia to investigate a murder at a diamond mine, where he discovers an old secret...and an even older personal problem. His compatriots head to Kiev on a trail of smuggled diamonds and kidnapped guest workers....and what they discover leads them to a vast conspiracy that not only has international repercussions but threatens them on a very personal level.

Rostnikov uncovers a crime spree with roots in a long-lost Tsarist treasure Porfiry Rostnikov was just a boy when he lobbed a grenade at the Nazi tank, destroying the evil machine and his left leg with it. And after five decades' dragging his lame leg behind him, the police inspector decides to have the useless limb amputated. The Cold War is over, and as Russia learns to walk again, its finest policeman must do the same.   Meanwhile, a knife-wielding...