Publication: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988, New York
First edition. Fine in fine dust jacket. Introduces Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov. Edgar Winner for Best Mystery Novel of 1988. Rostnikov, demoted after numerous battles with the KGB, is assigned to the case of Commissar Illya Rutkin. While investigating the death of dissident Lev Samsonov's daughter, Karla, the corrupt commissar is stabbed through the eye with an icicle. Finding his killer should be a top priority, yet the KGB hands it off to the disgraced detective. Someone doesn’t want this murder solved, and there are people in Moscow who may be plotting to ensure Rostnikov does not live to see the end of this Siberian winter.
Inventory Number: 49032