Customer Reviews

Three Stations: An Arkady Renko Novel (Arkady Renko Novels)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Though still an enjoyable novel, I found this to be the weakest book in the Renko series which started with the ground-breaking "Gorky Park". Not coincidentally, this is also the thinnest book physically of the series; compared to the rest of the books, it's a novelette.

It lacks the plotting complexities of Smith's earlier works; it's a pretty straightforward procedural. Though it evidently attempts to weave two "parallel" story lines, it fails because in the end, the resolution depends on pure chance rather than the true efforts of lead character Renko.

Essentially, Renko finds himself trying to solve a murder in Moscow. Meanwhile, a teen from the Russian sticks has her baby kidnapped from her while on the train to Moscow. Do these two events seem unrelated? Well... that's the problem with this book. They are, in virtually every way except for that chance overlap I mentioned earlier, which pushes all bounds of credibility, and only serves to provide an ending to the story.

I still give it three stars because in Smith's hands Renko is such an appealing character. But this book falls WAY short of the bar set by all the previous books.

This is a very fast-paced and character-heavy novel that has Russian police detective Arkady Renko in the thick of a serial murder case that nobody wants to acknowledge and may cause him to lose his job. Long portrayed as a kind moral icon in this long-running series of excellent stories, Renko has become far too incorruptible and committed to justice to comfortably fit into the Moscow police force that has long since headed in the opposite direction. Renko's status as a paragon was never more clearly sketched than in this novel that very quickly plunges into the lowest depths of contemporary Russian society.

The action--and much of it is starkly brutal and unrelenting--takes place mostly in the Three Stations neighborhood of Moscow--a kind of latter-day Times Square. It's a garish and squalid place that attracts every kind of criminal activity, but ironically, serves as a haven for the displaced and disadvantaged too. Those already victimized souls are further exploited mercilessly by the heavies in charge of the area's crime. Child prostitution, drugs, theft, and forgery abound, surrounded by high-end nightclubs that offer more sophisticated and expensive forms of distraction for the newly wealthy of the city. Renko is pulled into the Three Stations when the body of a young woman is discovered and the Inspector's sidekick, Victor Orlov is despatched to the crime scene. As usual, Victor is too intoxicated to investigate on his own, so Arkady helps out. The murder is unwelcome in the neighborhood that depends on tourists and other visitors, and Renko's efforts to shed light on who killed the girl are not appreciated. The first murder is followed by other killings and it gradually becomes apparent that a kind of serial murderer is at work.

Several other story lines emerge and cross. The plight of "thrown-away", homeless children is an important part of the novel. The story of Maya, a 15-year girl forced into prostitution by her parents, becomes central when her two-week old baby is stolen from her as she flees to Moscow from her provincial town. She is followed by the gangsters who "own" her and plan to punish her severely for her flight. The plights of other homeless children are threaded through Maya's saga as author Martin Cruz Smith hammers home the point that newly rich Russia is creating a large underclass that is officially and publicly ignored and abused by the government and better-off citizens. A NOTE OF WARNING--some of the abuse is extremely graphic and violent.

"Three Stations" does end on a note of justice and redemption for several of the characters, notably Arkady Renko himself. His integrity stands out and is celebrated in a modest way, giving some hope that the excesses of the new Russian society will eventually fade.

A very good action crime novel. There are a few loose ends, but it doesn't detract from the very engaging plot.

It is a rare and wonderful thing to be able to follow the adventures of a literary character for thirty years. And the author's evident skill in portraying the shifting fortunes of Russian society make for a most interesting setting. Three Stations is a police procedural set in contemporary Moscow centered upon events that converge in a modern crossroads frequented by over a million subway travelers each day; crimes take place that most are unwilling to see, including those with the responsibility to protect society.

There is no need to be familiar with the series to enjoy what is an excellent self-contained story, well-paced, well-plotted and among the best of its genre; however, to read the Renko stories merely as detective stories, is to miss the point that despite omnipresent corruption and vice an individual with honor and integrity can still make a difference. Renko is a survivor, but he survives without taking from others--in fact, he gives of himself at great personal cost. As such, the reader is not only looking for justice for the victims but also for Renko, who can't seem to ever catch a break.

This book, like its predecessors, does not spare its descriptions of the failings of modern civilization; it can be a tough read and presents doses of tough language but does not gratuitously dwell on the negative. Apparently modern Russia is competing with Victorian England in its ability to produce Dickensian squalor. Yet, like Mr. Dickens, Mr. Smith rewards his faithful and innocent characters in a manner that gives hope that eventually society may come to its senses and recognize the need to clean things up.

A respected English Professor of mine once opined that the value of fiction lies in its ability to provoke readers to action by virtue of vicarious experience. Thus the value of Mr. Smith's works is evident as they not only provide good reading, they should provoke anyone to be less tolerant of vice and more interested in protecting the rule of law; private acts have public consequences. I am grateful for modern authors willing to tackle moral issues; Arkady Renko is no saint, but he does the right thing in a society intent on punishing anyone who takes a stand against evil.

Moscow's horde of uncared-for, homeless children serve as the hub that this story revolves around. A child who was sold into prostitution has a child of her own, and loses it. This book is really about her effort to find that child again. Arkady Renko isn't involved in her story until the end -- he has plenty of problems of his own, including yet another battle with his boss, a series of dead dancers, and a billionaire who's going bankrupt. All of these stories race to a fast-paced conclusion.

Another reviewer has said that you don't need to have read previous Arkady Renko books to enjoy this one. That's true, but it would help you understand Renko's character. He's lost yet another lover here, and perhaps finds a new one. He continues to rely on and support his friend Victor, and continues to try and connect with his "adopted son." He saves the life of a character who suffers an allergic reaction, much like someone in his past who he could not save.

This is another fine outing in the Arkady Renko series.

Maya, a frightened teen with a baby, flees a countryside brothel on the Moscow-bound train, looking over her shoulder for the hunters she knows will follow. But when a kindly old woman rescues her from a bullying soldier she allows herself to be coddled a bit - and wakes in the chaos of the Three Stations train depot in Komsomol Square - her infant and her few possessions gone.

Naturally the cops don't believe her and when she escapes them it's not Renko who takes her under his wing but Zhenya, the 15-year-old orphan chess prodigy Renko rescued and sort-of adopted in a previous adventure. Zhenya is smart but socially awkward and lacks the muscle of Yegor, the local child-gang leader who promises to protect Maya - at a price, of course.

Meanwhile Renko is worrying about Zhenya as he rescues his old colleague Victor Orlov from the drunk tank and helps him investigate a suspicious death in a derelict trailer at another area of Three Stations. The dead girl is apparently a prostitute, most likely dead of an overdose.

Renko is on the outs with his superiors, as usual, and looking for something to do, so, although the higher-ups rule it a natural death, he commandeers an autopsy, rules it a homicide and is fired for his trouble. As Renko digs deeper the case grows more complex and Renko once again butts heads with the powerful, including a swaggering billionaire, Sasha Vaksberg, whose several casinos have been shut down by Putin, although his glittering nightclub boasts its own choreographer, a once-famous dancer: "Photos covering the walls as if she were a person with no faith in her memory."

Coincidentally Vaksberg's Three Stations casino is Zhenya's secret hideout, an eerie place where even the ice machines are kept in perfect readiness for the doors to be thrown open once again.

Things get deadly when the hunters come for Maya, and Renko refuses all offers to give up digging and go away. Both plotlines take place mostly in Three Stations, but Smith keeps Renko and Zhenya apart most of the way through.

This story is not as wide-ranging as most of Renko's outings, but Smith paints his usual vivid picture of Moscow's corruption and dysfunction as point of view moves from child prostitutes and gangs of pre-teen homeless children (most from abusive, alcoholic families) to the realms of the newly rich where anything can be bought if the price is right.

The review of "Three Stations" in the Book Review made me take a chance on this one when I might not have and I half regret it. The main story here is very weak, Smith's anti-hero Arkady Renko investigating what might be a new serial killer in Moscow, but with the kind of serial killer cliches you are more accustomed seeing in Jame,s Patterson's work or on television (the killer arranges the corpses in various ballet positions). That plot is so thin that whenever it is returned to, I had to remind myself that it was even part of the book. When another police investigator mentioned that there "might be a new serial killer in Moscow," in fact, it took me a moment to realize he was referring to the case Renko was investigating.

The main subplot follows Renko's ward as he helps a girl locate her missing baby in Three Stations, the combined train stations of Moscow that seem like an amazing place to set a better book. This plot kept almost taking off, but then would fall into cliche as well (was anyone shocked that the girl turned out to be an abused runaway prostitute?) and is tied up quickly in a somewhat unsatisfying way.

What I found interesting was that I still couldn't put it down. The plots might not have worked, but I really felt transported to the seedy side of a very real-feeling contemporary Moscow. The details drove me along, from the rich person's fair to the old woman photographer. It might've been better if Smith didn't feel the need to put in any kind of obvious criminal plot and just had it be Renko moving through this space akin to Pynchon's "Inherent Vice."

Three Stations is the seventh of the Arkady Renko police procedural books by Martin Cruz Smith. The book has none of the excitment or interest that the other books had and while the backdrop of the politics of Russia is there, the story is not. This was a great disappointment to an otherwise great series. It was also the thinnest of all the books - was able to read in just a couple of hours.

Dear Mr. Smith:

I've been a fan of your since I read Gorky Park. I've enjoyed the character of Arkady Renko.

Last night I finished your rough draft of Three Stations. I liked the descriptions of Moscow. I'd give you 4 or 5 stars for that.

After you've smoothed out Three Stations, added a little more plot, and connected

the two stories--

Oh, you mean that WAS the finished product?

Most other novels I wind up wishing at least 20-30 pages were cut; this one, the reverse. I was quite hopeful when seeing that the plotlines seemed to be heading toward an interesting maturation of the Arkady-Zhenya relationship. But as things wound down and the pages dwindled alarmingly, I saw that it was not to be. Why not? It really seems as though MCS thought he had a month to finish but was surprised when his editor said he had only a week. I hate to sound churlish; I'm an enthusiastic fan of the series.. an abridged effort by Mr. Smith is worth a fully realized novel from most others. I mean, when you read that the vodka coursed through Arkady 'like water running down a chandelier'... where can you get that now other than from the McCarthy's and McGuane's and Smith's? Worth reading?- you betcha. But darn, it feels like a hecka lost opportunity when he tees up the whole Arkady-Zhenya thing and doesn't take a proper swing. May we all find this is just an appetizer for a main course being whipped up in Smith's kitchen... OK, enough metaphors for one review!

Three Stations is excellent Moscow noir. The Russian setting gives gritty texture to this urgent story, featuring superb dialogue.

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