Stalin's Ghost
From AwardAnnals
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| Author(s) | Martin Cruz Smith |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | An Arkady Renko Novel |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Honors | |
| Investigator Arkady Renko, the pariah of the Moscow prosecutor’s office, has been assigned the thankless job of investigating a new phenomenon: late-night subway riders report seeing the ghost of Joseph Stalin. The illusion seems part political hocus-pocus and also part wishful thinking, for Stalin is again popular. More so than Renko, whose lover, Eva, has left him for Detective Nikolai Isakov, a charismatic veteran of the civil war in Chechnya, a hero of the far right and, Renko suspects, a killer for hire. The cases entwine, and Renko’s quests become a personal inquiry fueled by jealousy. The investigation leads to the fields of Tver, where once a million soldiers fought. There, amidst the detritus, Renko must confront the ghost of his own father, a favorite general of Stalin’s. In these barren fields, patriots and shady entrepreneurs—the Red Diggers and Black Diggers—collect the bones, weapons and personal effects of slain World War II soldiers, and find that even among the dead there are surprises. | |
Investigator Arkady Renko, the pariah of the Moscow prosecutor’s office, has been assigned the thankless job of investigating a new phenomenon: late-night subway riders report seeing the ghost of Joseph Stalin on the platform of the Chistye Prudy Metro station. The illusion seems part political hocus-pocus and also part wishful thinking, for among many Russians Stalin is again popular; the bloody dictator can boast a two-to-one approval rating. Decidedly better than that of Renko, whose lover, Eva, has left him for Detective Nikolai Isakov, a charismatic veteran of the civil war in Chechnya, a hero of the far right and, Renko suspects, a killer for hire. The cases entwine, and Renko’s quests become a personal inquiry fueled by jealousy.
The investigation leads to the fields of Tver outside of Moscow, where once a million soldiers fought. There, amidst the detritus, Renko must confront the ghost of his own father, a favorite general of Stalin’s. In these barren fields, patriots and shady entrepreneurs—the Red Diggers and Black Diggers—collect the bones, weapons and personal effects of slain World War II soldiers, and find that even among the dead there are surprises.
Reviews
Barnes and Noble
In post-Soviet Russia, Seven Year Plans have been replaced with side-street assassinations. Senior Investigator Arkady Renko notices a troubling pattern in several of these recent murders; many of the murder-for-hire victims served with two of his colleagues in Russia’s elite Black Berets. One of those colleagues is now running for high public office. Adding a ghastly aura to these mysteries are reports that the ghost of Joseph Stalin has been seen lurking on Moscow subway platforms. Another sharp cloak-and-dagger outing for Martin Cruz Smith, the author of Wolves Eat Dogs and Gorky Park.
