Moscow lies deep under snow, and Arkady Renko is on the trail of a suspect police officer, a former Black Beret who served with glory against the insurgency in Chechnya. But proof of the man's corruption is proving more elusive to gather. Then Renko's unpopular boss calls him in to handle a delicate matter: passengers riding the last metro of the night have reported seeing the ghost of Stalin waving to them from the platform edge. Every night at the same time, regular as clockwork. Meanwhile, his adopted son, Zhenya has disappeared, and his girlfriend, Eva, has reignited an affair with the very officer Arkady is investigating. Renko is assigned the help of an expert Stalinist, a decorated war hero and chess grandmaster. Not everyone, it seems, likes the fact that Stalin is dead...Not only an original and deeply humane thriller, "Stalin's Ghost" is also a wonderful evocation of the emerging New Russia where only too often the troubles of the present erupt into double-cross, murder and grand chess stratagems...
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Moscow-based Senior Investigator Arkady Renko, in his outstanding sixth outing (after Wolves Eat Dogs), investigates a murder-for-hire scheme that leads him to suspect two fellow police detectives, Nikolai Isakov and Marat Urman, both former members of Russia's elite Black Berets, who served in Chechnya. Isakov, a war hero, is now running for public office. Renko must also look into reports that the ghost of Stalin has begun appearing on subway platforms and why several bodies of Black Berets who served in Chechnya with Isakov have turned up in the morgue. Despite repeated threats to his life, Renko stubbornly perseveres, seeking justice in a land that has no official notion of that concept. Smith eschews vertiginous twists and surprises, concentrating instead on Renko as he slowly and patiently builds his case until the pieces fall together and he has again, if not exactly triumphed, at least survived. This masterful suspense novel casts a searing light on contemporary Russia. 250,000 first printing. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Bookmarks Magazine
His sixth Arkady Renko novel in 26 years, Martin Cruz Smith has produced a suspenseful page-turner packed full of vivid characters, clever dialogue, and hair-raising plot twists. In addition to a gripping mystery, readers will embrace the detailed, harrowing descriptions of the harshness and violence of life in the "New Russia." Critics unanimously praised Smith's sobering depiction of contemporary, post-Communist Russia; indeed, the country emerges as a character in its own right. The Wall Street Journal complained of implausible story lines and the questionable nature of Renko's career choices, but most critics were delighted to see Arkady Renko back in action. Readers will no doubt share their enthusiasm.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Martin Cruz-Smith's novels include Stalin's Ghost, Gorky Park, Rose, December 6, Polar Star and Stallion Gate. A two-time winner of the Hammett Prize from the International Association of Crime Writers and a recipient of Britain's Golden Dagger Award, he lives in California.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Long live Arkady,
By Adman (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel (Arkady Renko Novels) (Hardcover)
For more than a quarter of the century, Martin Cruz Smith has made his readers experts on Renkology. In fact, Arkady must be the most loved Russian made of ink. At least, he is for me. So I am willing to forget a couple of flaws in the last two novels. In fact I could forgive any flaws. I would still enjoy a Renko novel even if Arkady recited Moscow's phone book for 300 pages. So, here are a couple of thoughts on Stalin's Ghost.
FOR RENKO LOVERS : You will find all Smith's trademarked nihilistic, ironic and laconic gems of dialogue that have been keeping you awake at 3 am and unproductive at the office the next day. You will find the excellent supporting Russians, Chechens, chess grand masters, devoted detectives, all orbiting Renko. They are all unique, they all speak wise and they never ever seem ersatz. You will also read some poigniant chapters about Arkady as a child. And you will discover that Arkady can even waltz. However an Arkady novel every year is different from an Arkady novel every 5 years. Don't expect the complicated plots of Gorky Park, Polar Star, Red Square and Havana that secure second, third and nth readings. This Arkady looks more like a mini series. Think of an analogy. If Godfather I and II were adopted into a TV series (with the director and all of the original casting) it would still be great but it wouldn't be... the same. I don't want to ask the writer to wait for 5 years until he delivers the book that even Pribluda would canonize. I am very happy with one Renko every year, adding to his belly scars from Gorky Park and his butchered back from Red Square a strangulation and a shot in the head. Long live Arkady. 3 ½ stars. FOR RENKO BEGINNERS : Start chronologically. First read Gorky Park. Then re-read it. Then take ten days off and read the other 5 novels. As you read, keep reminding yourselves that you are the luckiest people of all since, what you will be enjoying in 10 days, took some others 25 years. FOR RENKO HATERS : There are no Renko haters in our universe. Only in his.
108 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Vex not his ghost: O let him pass!,
By Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel (Arkady Renko Novels) (Hardcover)
He hates him much that would upon the rack of this tough world
stretch him out longer." King Lear, Act IV, Scene 3. I have read and very much enjoyed Martin Cruz Smith's previous Arkady Renko novels. Renko's erratic career path as a police inspector has seen him survive, barely, the apparatchiks of the Soviet regime in "Gorky Park". He survived the USSR's imminent demise in "Polar Star" and the emergence of bloody cowboy capitalism, Russian-style in "Red Square". In "Wolves Eat Dogs" Renko operated in a Russia dominated by an elite group of billionaire oligarchs who fed like vultures, even upon the radioactive ruins in the Ukraine and Belarus created by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Now, in Smith's new novel "Stalin's Ghost", Renko lives in a Russia in which the dislocations caused by the last twenty-five years have left many Russians feeling nostalgic for the security and certainty they felt under Stalin. Stalin's ghost may or may not be vexed by being placed upon the rack of this tough, brave new world that is Russia but his presence is most certainly still felt. An article in "Foreign Affairs" magazine in January 2006 contained a poll by a Russian polling organization indicating that as late as 20003, 20% of Russians would vote for Stalin if he were to return to life and run for President. The sentiment forms the thematic undercurrent for Renko's latest investigations. Renko is ordered to investigate the alleged appearance of the ghost of Stalin at a Moscow underground (subway) station. This appearance, real, imagined, or fraudulent seems connected to the Senate campaign of one Nikolai Isakov. Isakov is a former member of the Russian army's elite "Black Berets" and a `hero' of the last Russian campaign against Chechnya. Isakov is the candidate of an ultra-nationalist ticket who urges a return to the greatness enjoyed by the USSR in its glory days and is quick to invoke the name of Stalin in support of that campaign. Renko's investigation is complicated for a number of reasons. Isakov happens to be a police investigator who has also managed to win the affections of Renko's love interest, Eva, who during the course of the novel leaves Renko for Isakov. During his investigation into the ghost, Renko also comes across a series of murders which may or may not be connected to Isakov's alleged heroic acts in Chechnya. These three plot lines: the investigation into Stalin's ghost; the personal dynamic amongst Renko, Isakov, and Eva; and the murders of Isakov's Black Beret colleagues gradually converge until they meet in a nicely dramatic conclusion. "Stalin's Ghost" is a welcome addition to the Arkady Renko series. Smith's plotting and writing is first-rate. I think Smith has shown over the years that he has developed not only a real feeling and affection for his creation, Renko, but also for Renko's homeland, Russia. It would be very easy for a western writer to dip into stereotypes about the old USSR and the new Russia but Smith writes without disdain in my opinion and that is always a plus. He doesn't paint a rosy picture but, grim as it is, Smith is not condescensing about Russia or its people. Smith is also a realist. We don't get happily ever after endings for Renko but the endings Smith creates are, nevertheless, very satisfactory. If I had to point a critical finger anywhere, I would suggest that in "Stalin's Ghost", Renko's ability to survive countless attempts to put him in an early grave, once verging on the miraculous seems to be a bit more of a stretch than I've seen in previous Renko novels. Basically, Smith came close, in my opinion, to losing some of that practical grounding that marked his earlier Renko efforts. Ultimately, that is a relatively minor quibble as Smith did not go `over the top' to the point where it detracted from the plot. This is particularly true for someone like me, who has developed quite an attachment to this fictional character over the years. "Stalin's Ghost" is an excellent piece of fiction that transcends any categorization of it as a piece of genre writing. I think any reader should enjoy Smith's latest saga in the life and times of Investigator Renko. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig (4.5 stars o/o 5).
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not Great,
By A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel (Arkady Renko Novels) (Hardcover)
I've read four of the five previous books in the Arkady Renko series, and while some are more successful than others as thrillers, each takes the reader into an interesting part of Soviet/Russian modern history. So it was only a matter of time before Chechnya appeared as part of a Renko plotline. In this sixth installment, the increasingly creaky Renko doesn't actually go to Chechnya, but the breakaway republic looms in the shadows at the heart of the book. Instead, the story stays mostly in Moscow, with a trip to Tver (a nondescript small city about 150km NW of Moscow).
The story begins with Renko and his partner Victor investigating a murder-for-hire scheme that may involve two fellow detectives, Isakov and Urman. These two served in OMON (aka the Black Berets, a militia special forces outfit perhaps best known in the West for their ineptitude in the Beslan hostage crisis) in Chechnya, and are certified war heroes. At the same time, Renko is told to look into alleged sightings of Stalin on a metro platform. These plotlines dovetail, as Renko quickly discovers the Stalin sightings to be a stunt organized by two American political consultants working for the fringe ultranationalist party Isakov is running as candidate for. A third thread involves the deaths of several of the men who served under Isakov in Chechnya. A fourth plotline involves Renko's relationship with the Ukrainian doctor Eva (from the previous book in the series), who also happens to have a history with Isakov from Chechnya. A fifth plotline involves the chess prodigy street kid whom Renko is semi-foster parent to. All of becomes a bit much, as the plotlines interweave to the point of excess. As always, Renko doggedly pursues the truth against the orders of his superiors, and even against his own best interests. He appears especially detached in this outing, and there's a good deal of backstory given about his relationship with his father, who was a favorite of Stalin. It's certainly not a bad book, but it lacks the focus and deep texture of some the previous in the series.
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Big Rudi, Black Berets, Elena Ilyichnina, Sofia Andreyeva, Nikolai Isakov, Marat Urman, Russian Patriot, Lake Brosno, Chistye Prudy, Sunzha Bridge, Investigator Renko, Captain Isakov, Sovietskaya Street, Three Stations, Prosecutor Zurin, Soviet Union, Zoya Filotova, Marfa Bourdenova, Golden Khan, Detective Isakov, Sergeant Belov, Doctor Kazka, Prosecutor Sarkisian, Grandmaster Platonov, The American Browse Sample Pages:
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red diggers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Big Rudi, Black Berets, Elena Ilyichnina, Sofia Andreyeva, Nikolai Isakov, Marat Urman, Russian Patriot, Lake Brosno, Chistye Prudy, Sunzha Bridge, Investigator Renko, Captain Isakov, Sovietskaya Street, Three Stations, Prosecutor Zurin, Soviet Union, Zoya Filotova, Marfa Bourdenova, Golden Khan, Detective Isakov, Sergeant Belov, Doctor Kazka, Prosecutor Sarkisian, Grandmaster Platonov, The American Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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