| Anyone who
follows figure skating knows the name of Igor Marchenko.
In
Russia
in 1977, Igor managed to defect by evading his KGB guards and
making his way through subzero temperatures to the American
Embassy. He was 14 at the time, and the top male figure
skater in
Russia
. Five years later, he represented the
United States
in the Olympics. After a long career, he became a coach.
His star student of the moment is Jordan Ares, who won the
Ladies Silver Medal in 2005. In December of 2005, Igor was
granted permission to return to
Russia
as
Jordan
’s coach, for a television skating special. The morning
of the first practice, he dropped dead.
Arriving
in
Russia
for the show, Rebecca (Bex) Levy, researcher for 24/7 Sports
Television Network went straight to the Russian police to get an
update on orders of Gil, the executive producer. What was
originally thought to be a heart attack appears to be murder.
Someone soaked Igor’s gloves with a derivative of digitalis,
which was then absorbed through his skin, stopping his heart.
It’s during their first early-morning production meeting that
Gil drops the bomb. Since Bex has solved two previous
murders in the skating world, 24/7 is already promoting the fact
that she will solve this one, too. And she’ll solve it,
on the air, during the ladies long program. No pressure.
Bex is a
great character. As a researcher, she lives for
information. As low person on the network totem pole,
she’s often treated like a glorified lackey. Since
there’s no way to retract the promos already playing in
New York
, Bex decides to make the best of it and goes to work with the
help of her translator, the teenaged Sasha. Sasha is an
engaging and realistic character who wishes to become “the Ted
Turner of
Russia
.” Watching these two work together is a lot of fun.
And, as always, the author puts her insider knowledge of the
skating world to good use, filling in the background and
participants with very realistic details. A new Bex Levy
mystery is a real treat; so settle in for an evening of skating,
murder, and entertainment.
|
