Synopses & Reviews
Arkady Renko returns for his most enigmatic and baffling case:the death of one of Russia's new billionaires, which leads him to the Zone of Exclusion -- Chernobyl, and the surrounding areas closed to the world since the nuclear disaster of 1986.
In his groundbreaking Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith created one of the iconic detectives of contemporary fiction, Arkady Renko. Cynical, quietly subversive, brilliantly analytical and haunted by melancholy, Renko has survived, barely, the journey from the Soviet Union to the New Russia, only to find his transformed nation just as obsessed with secrecy, corruption and brutality as was the old Communist dictatorship.
In Wolves Eat Dogs, Renko enters the privileged world of Russia's new billionaire class. The grandest of them all, a self-made powerhouse named Pasha Ivanov, has apparently leapt to his death from the palatial splendor of his posh, ultra-modern Moscow condominium. While there are no signs pointing to homicide, there is one troubling and puzzling bit of evidence: in Ivanov's bedroom closet, there's a mountain of salt.
Ivanov's demise ultimately leads Renko to Chernobyl and its environs. (No one knows how many deaths resulted from the explosion in Reactor Number 4. The official government figure is just 41, though many experts estimate that the toll was really a half million or more.) It is a ghostly world, still aglow with radioactivity, now inhabited only by the militia, shady scavengers, a few reckless scientists, and some elderly Ukrainian peasants who would rather ignore the Geiger counters than relocate. Renko's journey to this netherworld, the crimes he uncovers there and the secrets they reveal about the New Russia, make for a tense, unforgettable page-turning adventure.
Each of Martin Cruz Smith's novels is a ticket to an unknown world. Wolves Eat Dogs is Smith's most harrowing trip yet.
Review
"Even more than Havana Bay, this novel demonstrates Cruz Smith's remarkable ability to meld character with landscape, and if Renko seems to find a shred of hope in the end, we know not to turn our dosimeters off quite yet." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"As always, Smith imagines a Russia that is sad, broken, and, somehow, romantically irresistible." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Smith's latest is filled with the same eye for detail and fully developed characters that made Gorky Park so compelling. Fans will snap up." Library Journal
Synopsis
With Arkady Renko, Smith created one of the iconic sleuths of contemporary fiction. Renko returns to investigate international plots that drive one of Russia's billionaire businessmen to jump to his death.
Synopsis
In his groundbreaking Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith created an iconic detective of contemporary fiction. Quietly subversive, brilliantly analytical, and haunted by melancholy, Arkady Renko survived, barely, the journey from the Soviet Union to the New Russia, only to find his transformed nation just as obsessed with corruption and brutality as was the old Communist dictatorship.
In Wolves Eat Dogs, Renko returns for his most enigmatic and baffling case: the death of one of Russia's new billionaires, which leads him to Chernobyl and the Zone of Exclusion -- closed to the world since 1986's nuclear disaster. It is still aglow with radioactivity, now inhabited only by the militia, shady scavengers, a few reckless scientists, and some elderly peasants who refuse to relocate. Renko's journey to this ghostly netherworld, the crimes he uncovers there, and the secrets they reveal about the New Russia make for an unforgettable adventure.
Synopsis
With Arkady Renko, Martin Cruz Smith created one of the iconic sleuths of contemporary fiction. Renko's cynicism, his profound love of the truth coupled with his passionate hatred for the hypocrisy that was once the Soviet Union, have won over millions of readers around the world. Now, Renko returns with a case that epitomizes the New Russia. Pal Ivanov, powerful, vigorous, dangerous, and one of the nation's billionaire businessmen, has jumped to his death. When Renko is called in to investigate, he uncovers hidden demons and byzantine international plots that drove this oligarch to his death. The trail leads to The Zone: the area surrounding Chernobyl, site of the Earth's worst nuclear reactor accident eighteen years ago. It is a ghostly world, still glowing, inhabited by Russian militia, hearty elderly Ukrainians who refuse to relocate, and shady entrepreneurs who seem to have figured out ways to make a few rubles on the radioactive graves of so many. Renko's journey to this netherworld, the crimes he uncovers there and the secrets they reveal about his nation, make for a tense, unforgettable page-turning adventure. Filled with the detail and color that make each of Martin Cruz Smith's novels a ticket to an unknown world, Wolves Eat Dogs is Renko's most harrowing trip.
Synopsis
Arkady Renko returns for his most enigmatic and baffling case: The death of one of Russia's new billionaires, which leads him to the Zone of Exclusion Chernobyl, and the surrounding areas, closed to the world since the nuclear disaster of April 1986.
In his groundbreaking Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith created one of the iconic detectives of contemporary fiction, Arkady Renko. Cynical, quietly subversive, brilliantly analytical and haunted by melancholy, Renko has survived, barely, the journey from the Soviet Union to the New Russia, only to find his transformed nation just as obsessed with secrecy, corruption and brutality as was the old Communist dictatorship.
In Wolves Eat Dogs, Renko enters the privileged world of Russia's new billionaire class. The grandest of them all, a self-made powerhouse named Pasha Ivanov, has apparently leapt to his death from the palatial splendor of his ultra-modern Moscow condominium. While there are no signs pointing to homicide, there is one troubling and puzzling bit of evidence...in Ivanov's bedroom closet, there's a mountain of salt.
Ivanov's demise ultimately leads Renko on a journey through Chernobyl's netherworld. The crimes he uncovers and the secrets they reveal about the New Russia make for a tense, unforgettable adventure.
About the Author
Martin Cruz Smith first burst onto the literary landscape with his critically acclaimed Gorky Park, which went on to become an international bestseller. His subsequent novels include Polar Star, Red Square, Havana Bay, and Rose, of which the latter two won the Hammett Award. He lives with his family in California.