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Porfiry Petrovich #3
A Razor Wrapped in Silk
St Petersburg. 1870. A child factory worker is mysteriously abducted. A society beauty is sensationally murdered. Two very different crimes show up the deep fissures in Russian society of the late tsarist period. The first is barely noticed by the authorities. The latter draws the full investigative might of St Petersburg's finest, led by magistrate Porfiry Petrovich. The dead woman had powerful friends - including at least one member of the Romanov family - so when the tsar's notorious secret police becomes involved, it seems that both crimes may have a political - not to say revolutionary - aspect. A trail of missing children leads to a shocking discovery that takes Porfiry inside the Winter Palace for a confrontation with the Tsar himself. The usually incisive magistrate grows increasingly unsure what to believe, who to trust and how to proceed. His very life appears to be in danger, though from whom he can't be sure ...
480 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2010
About the author
R.N. Morris
28 books46 followersR. N. Morris's most recent book is the historical novel, Fortune's Hand.
He is the author of the St Petersburg Mysteries Series featuring Porfiry Petrovich, the detective from Dostoevsky's masterpiece Crime and Punishment: A Gentle Axe, A Vengeful Longing, A Razor Wrapped in Silk and The Cleansing Flames.
He also wrote the Silas Quinn series, set in London in 1914: Summon Up The Blood, The Mannequin House, The Dark Palace, The Red Hand of Fury, The White Feather Killer and The Music Box Enigma.
He has written a standalone dystopian thriller, Psychotopia and, writing as Roger Morris, the contemporary thriller Taking Comfort.
He is the author of the St Petersburg Mysteries Series featuring Porfiry Petrovich, the detective from Dostoevsky's masterpiece Crime and Punishment: A Gentle Axe, A Vengeful Longing, A Razor Wrapped in Silk and The Cleansing Flames.
He also wrote the Silas Quinn series, set in London in 1914: Summon Up The Blood, The Mannequin House, The Dark Palace, The Red Hand of Fury, The White Feather Killer and The Music Box Enigma.
He has written a standalone dystopian thriller, Psychotopia and, writing as Roger Morris, the contemporary thriller Taking Comfort.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 23, 2012
A tale that involves factory workers, a teacher, a murdered actress and her catatonic sister in Tsarist St. Petersburg, with the return of two investigators, Porfiry Petrovich and Virginsky, in a conspiracy that stretches all the way to Tsar Alexander II's study. Complicated, with plenty of twists and lots of psychology, I found this involved enough to enjoy and while there are some distasteful subjects herein, it's certainly not a dull or predictable mystery. Four stars overall, recommended.
For the longer review please go to this link:
http://www.epinions.com/review/A_Razo...
For the longer review please go to this link:
http://www.epinions.com/review/A_Razo...
December 11, 2017
The book has a strong depiction of place and period. The plot is complex and twisting. Porfry is well presented in the development of Crime and Punishment. The ending is rather melodramatic!
June 2, 2022
In 1870 St Petersburg Porfiry Petrovich and his assistant, Virginsky, have to find the killer of a promiscuous society woman which gradually connects to the murders of child mill-workers at a school run by a young society woman. Suspects, up to and including the Tsar’s family, are gradually winnowed away before the rather thriller-like ending. It’s a little too long and circumstantial evidence is a bit too evident, connections being made on the flimsiest of pretexts, although most characters are well-delineated and, as a portrait of time, place and social divisions, it’s a very good read.
January 27, 2026
A Razor Wrapped in Silk is an interesting, but not particularly compelling mystery regarding murders and impending revolution in late 19th century St. Petersburg. The author does a nice job of creating the atmosphere of the time, but the mystery itself and its solution are rather dull and over-reaching.
November 15, 2017
I nearly gave up on this book after a couple of chapters because of the overblown descriptions. It did improve once the action started and I quite enjoyed the characters and story.
I especially liked the idiosyncratic magistrate/detective in this story and think it would make a good tv drama.
I especially liked the idiosyncratic magistrate/detective in this story and think it would make a good tv drama.
July 16, 2017
A good entertaining read - better than many, but not 'great'.
December 16, 2017
Good novel full of twists and turns, and complete with a gruesome ending for a character, thats got to hurt!! Enjoying this series of novels.
July 26, 2023
I loved it. I wanted more from the ending though. It felt rushed. I wanted to see the repercussions of the actions of some people. Atleast some serious consequences.
August 9, 2026
1870 St. Petersburg. Porfry Petrovich has two case to investigate. One of the missing children working in a factory who all attended a school, and the death of Yelena Polenova, fiancée of Prince Sergei.
An enjoyable historical mystery
An enjoyable historical mystery
March 7, 2011
"Can you make anyone confess to anything?” – Captain Mizinchikov
Given his long and illustrious track record of solving even the most baffling of cases, said question is a fair one to be posed to Investigating Magistrate Porfiry Petrovich. Yet, A Razor Wrapped in Silk, the third outing for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s famous investigator under the skillful hand of author R.N. Morris, finds Porfiry Petrovich challenged with solving two seemingly unrelated cases and, for the first time, beginning to question his skills as an investigator.
The intrigue begins when Petrovich is approached with a request from a privileged young woman to investigate the disappearance of several children. Barely more than indentured servants working long hours in a factory under horrendous conditions, disposable in the eyes of society at large, their absence was noticed by the young woman when the children stopped showing up for lessons at her free school.
Petrovich agrees to look into the matter, but when another young woman from the world of the aristocracy is murdered shortly thereafter while attending a play the full resources of the police force are brought to bear on that case, and the missing children investigation falls by the wayside.
As his investigation of the society murder progresses Petrovich begins to see connections between it and the missing children, connections that bring Petrovich into conflict with both the disdainful aristocracy and the distrustful revolutionaries, and which ultimately set Petrovich on a collision course with the Tsar himself.
The investigations make for a great detective story in and of themselves but, as with the previous two entries in the series, where A Razor Wrapped in Silk truly shines is in author R.N. Morris’ exquisite portrayal of both time and place. Set in 1870 Saint Petersburg, Russia, A Razor Wrapped in Silk gives readers a fascinating look at the very disparate living conditions and opportunities that existed during a time when a society and nation were on the verge of historic upheaval, and where one’s position in the socioeconomic hierarchy greatly affected not only how you were treated in life, but also in death.
From the grim conditions in the factories just taking hold to the opulence of The Winter Palace, Morris masterfully brings Saint Petersburg and its inhabitants to life. Every detail rings true, every character a perfect reflection of their position in a society clearly divided between the haves and have-nots, with the wonderfully single-minded and eccentric Porfiry Petrovich acting as a bridge between the two worlds.
If you are a fan of Crime and Punishment I strongly urge you to jump into this series (you don’t have to start at the beginning). Interestingly, if you despise Crime and Punishment – or couldn’t even get through it at gunpoint in high school – I actually encourage you even more to try this series. While he’s borrowed Porfiry Petrovich from Dostoevsky, Morris has put his own stamp on the character. It’s a subtle one, but made a crucial difference to me as someone who was, at best, indifferent on Crime and Punishment before discovering Morris’ fresh take on the character.
So go ahead, take a trip to Russia. Not only is there a great series waiting for you, but you may (re)discover an appreciation for one of the all time classic works of literature in the process.
Given his long and illustrious track record of solving even the most baffling of cases, said question is a fair one to be posed to Investigating Magistrate Porfiry Petrovich. Yet, A Razor Wrapped in Silk, the third outing for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s famous investigator under the skillful hand of author R.N. Morris, finds Porfiry Petrovich challenged with solving two seemingly unrelated cases and, for the first time, beginning to question his skills as an investigator.
The intrigue begins when Petrovich is approached with a request from a privileged young woman to investigate the disappearance of several children. Barely more than indentured servants working long hours in a factory under horrendous conditions, disposable in the eyes of society at large, their absence was noticed by the young woman when the children stopped showing up for lessons at her free school.
Petrovich agrees to look into the matter, but when another young woman from the world of the aristocracy is murdered shortly thereafter while attending a play the full resources of the police force are brought to bear on that case, and the missing children investigation falls by the wayside.
As his investigation of the society murder progresses Petrovich begins to see connections between it and the missing children, connections that bring Petrovich into conflict with both the disdainful aristocracy and the distrustful revolutionaries, and which ultimately set Petrovich on a collision course with the Tsar himself.
The investigations make for a great detective story in and of themselves but, as with the previous two entries in the series, where A Razor Wrapped in Silk truly shines is in author R.N. Morris’ exquisite portrayal of both time and place. Set in 1870 Saint Petersburg, Russia, A Razor Wrapped in Silk gives readers a fascinating look at the very disparate living conditions and opportunities that existed during a time when a society and nation were on the verge of historic upheaval, and where one’s position in the socioeconomic hierarchy greatly affected not only how you were treated in life, but also in death.
From the grim conditions in the factories just taking hold to the opulence of The Winter Palace, Morris masterfully brings Saint Petersburg and its inhabitants to life. Every detail rings true, every character a perfect reflection of their position in a society clearly divided between the haves and have-nots, with the wonderfully single-minded and eccentric Porfiry Petrovich acting as a bridge between the two worlds.
If you are a fan of Crime and Punishment I strongly urge you to jump into this series (you don’t have to start at the beginning). Interestingly, if you despise Crime and Punishment – or couldn’t even get through it at gunpoint in high school – I actually encourage you even more to try this series. While he’s borrowed Porfiry Petrovich from Dostoevsky, Morris has put his own stamp on the character. It’s a subtle one, but made a crucial difference to me as someone who was, at best, indifferent on Crime and Punishment before discovering Morris’ fresh take on the character.
So go ahead, take a trip to Russia. Not only is there a great series waiting for you, but you may (re)discover an appreciation for one of the all time classic works of literature in the process.
April 22, 2016
I enjoyed this book - the first of Morris's I had read. Set in Tsarist St. Petersburg in 1870, it is effectively a police procedural with Porfiry Petrovich, Dostoyevsky's detective created in Crime and Punishment, as the main protagonist. It is well written with an engaging central character and a fairly interesting rather than utterly gripping narrative. What gives this book its distinctive character is the setting which Morris manages very well. He settles on a style which conveys the manners and mores of the time and this maintains the atmosphere very convincingly. The historical and political background seem well done (although my very scanty knowledge of 19th Century Russia doesn't make me a good judge of this) and it was this aspect I enjoyed most.
The plot itself is, frankly, pretty run-of-the-mill. Many of the familiar elements of the genre are trotted out: Crimes With No Obvious Link To Each Other, The Obvious Suspect, Political Pressure, Detective Under Threat, Not Knowing Whom He Can Trust, Implausible Flashes Of Intuition and, of course, a rather ludicrous Tense Climax. There is an odd, almost irrelevant sub-plot about ownership of a bank which seems to be there just to illustrate some of the prejudices of the time, and some of the aspects of the plot are a bit clunky. However, there is plenty in the book to enjoy
Four stars is a slightly generous rating, but three stars would have been very churlish and I can recommend this book as a diverting read.
The plot itself is, frankly, pretty run-of-the-mill. Many of the familiar elements of the genre are trotted out: Crimes With No Obvious Link To Each Other, The Obvious Suspect, Political Pressure, Detective Under Threat, Not Knowing Whom He Can Trust, Implausible Flashes Of Intuition and, of course, a rather ludicrous Tense Climax. There is an odd, almost irrelevant sub-plot about ownership of a bank which seems to be there just to illustrate some of the prejudices of the time, and some of the aspects of the plot are a bit clunky. However, there is plenty in the book to enjoy
Four stars is a slightly generous rating, but three stars would have been very churlish and I can recommend this book as a diverting read.
December 29, 2013
I really enjoy this series and am not sure why they are not more readily available nor popular. To me they are a great mix of historical fiction and murder mystery. The characters are so well drawn and events so darkly comic and even haunting. If you're a fan of The Alienist or Hangman's Daughter - give these a try too. My only complaint with this one was the "solve" was a bit too obvious and too quick to wrap-up at the end...but I was hooked through most of the book.
May 3, 2012
Harris writes superbly well about St Petersburg and hereby covers the cracks over a story that is compelling but rather too long. I found my concentration wandering in parts, but the sheer unpleasantness of life at that period is captured, as is the historical importance of those years. Certainly I will read another in the series.
May 13, 2011
A great detective, and quite fun to read.
August 13, 2012
Hard to get in to and it felt like the book was trying way too hard. The vocabulary is frequently over-done and names of the characters are just confusing. It promised much more than it delivered.
April 22, 2013
Lu en francais sous le titre: Les enfants perdus de l'Empire.
January 3, 2012
A nice picture of St. Petersburg in the late 1800's, with Russia hurtling towards revolution.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews