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.
The Washington Post - Patrick Anderson
Today's Russia, as Smith pictures it, is a madhouse -- poor Renko is the only sane man in sight. The Soviet Union, under communism, was awful but predictable. The new Russia confronts Renko with a bewildering mix of capitalism, corruption, mob violence, political consultants, policemen who are hired killers, feminism, Chechen terrorists and, most incredibly, nostalgia for Joe Stalin.
Categories:
- Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
- Thrillers & Suspense
- Supernatural
- Ghosts
- Supernatural
- Thrillers & Suspense
Publisher : Gallery Books
Author : Smith, Martin Cruz
Language : English
Edition : Reprint
Published :2008-06-03
Number Of Pages : 352
Binding : paperback
ISBN-10 : 0743276736
ISBN-13 : 9780743276733
Item weight : 0.7 lb
Dimensions : 1.3 in x 5.3 in x 8.1 in
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