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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780743276733
ISBN number: 0743276736
Label: Pocket
Manufacturer: Pocket
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: June 03, 2008
Publishing house: Pocket
Sale Popularity Level: 5556
Studio: Pocket
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Product Description:
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.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
Martin Cruz Smith wrote a few detective novels taking place in Russia. His knowledge of Russia is intimate and he knows things about the country that are inaccessible to academic researchers.
Stalin's Ghost is a good story with detective Renko solving a very complicated plot, in real life perhaps with a bit optimistic end. It is a compulsive reading and I recommend it to all who also want to know a bit about contemporary as well as the Soviet Russia.
Rated by buyers -
And so is Martin Cruz Smith! A common criticism of his previous novel "Wolves Eat Dogs" was that it was as much a travelogue of the Chernobyl area as it was a mystery novel. There was some truth in this. "Wolves Eat Dogs" was a bit slow, and, when it came down to it, Inspector Arkady Renko didn't do all that much. But "Stalin's Ghost" shows beyond doubt that Martin Cruz Sith still has the chops for writing a great mystery. Arkady is as broodingly compelling as he has ever been. The supporting characters are alternately, and sometimes simultaneously, endearing and infuriating. All of this makes for a heady mix with Smith's noire, snow covered Moscow streets. You might think you have the mystery solved pretty early, but hold on because "Stalin's Ghost" has several truly bold plot twists coming at you. "Gorky Park" remains the truly best novel in this series, but "Stalin's Ghost" is certainly the best novel Smith has written since "Red Square". Arkady is back!
Rated by buyers 
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Having read most of his earlier books (altho disappointed at the previous one set in Chernobyl), I picked this book up as soon as I saw it in the bookstore. That's something I won't do again with another of his books. He's always been a bit of a "slow" writer, but this book lacks cohesion in storyline and meanders along randomly (and annoyingly) at times. More focus please! My advice - don't bother.
Rated by buyers -
I'm an Arkady fan. This one was pretty good but not as good as some of the others in the series- a little less action.
Rated by buyers -
Arkady still fights very bad guys while trying to help resolve slowly slipping, losing causes. And he is still, in his traditional Russian way, a man of many sorrows. While the book fictionalizes some real & very concerning crime headlines regarding poisonings & whistle-blowers' deaths, it develops intriguing twists that ironically challenge Renko's professional spririt & frustrated personal life. In general, Arkady must deal with Russia's new threats & realities of terrorism, along with hard questions concerning war crimes & cover-ups.
Although the book has an intriguing start, it lapses into a somewhat slow plot build-up. However, M. Cruz Smith does bring his readers unusual plot twists, dead ends, & his usual resolutions to tragic strands of a series of mysteries & criminals making the plots finally tie together in a good finale, just frayed enough to let us hope there is another Renko book-in-waiting. Although this is not his very best book yet, it flashes a picture of some of the unsettling changes in the newest unfolding chapter of Russia's history and is well worth reading.
Sunburn Warning: Don't consider this as a beach book. You'll reach a point where you can't put it down, and even SPF45 won't save you over the course of your reading!
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