People Who Walk In Darkness

"A character-driven novel in which Rostnikov, a good man in a bad system, must battle corrupt leaders, canny criminals, and an entrenched bureaucracy, besides solving a mystery. Kaminsky is adept at navigating the shoals of post-Soviet Russia while delivering solid suspense and knockout characterization." — Booklist (starred review)

Known as "The Washtub," Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov is a Russian bear of a man. The imperturbable, one-legged Rostnikov is also one of the last honest civil servants in a very dishonest post-Soviet Union Russia.

Inspector Rostnikov is commanded to make the long journey from Moscow to the frozen wasteland of Siberia to investigate a murder at a diamond mine. There he encounters gulag conditions, rampant drunkenness, and the ramblings of madmen talking about ghost children. As his compatriots track the smuggled diamonds to Keiv, they discover a vast conspiracy that not only has international repercussions . . . but also threatens their lives.