The Russian diplomat of the title is found ‘drowned’ in a swimming pool in a Beverly Hills hotel and the FBI and Soviet Consulate would like him to remain ‘drowned’ rather than murdered, which it turns out he was. However, Detective Sergeant Masao Masuto wants to investigate this murder as well as a related deadly shooting at the same hotel. The case is complicated by a potential bomb plot and the kidnapping of Masuto’s young daughter from his front garden.
Masuto is a Zen Master and an exponent of martial arts, skills that come in useful when he’s pressured by the FBI, his wife, terrorists, and his colleagues to tone down his investigation.
This is a lovely and easy book to read – there are no literary references, lots of dialogue, and no monologues on the meaning of his or anyone else’s existence.
Please leave a reply – I would like to hear from you: