Martin Cruz Smith
Investigator Arkady Renko, the pariah of the Moscow prosecutorâ€™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.,That's a 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 Renkoâ€™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 Stalinâ€™s. In these barren fields, patriots and shady entrepreneursâ€”the Red Diggers and Black Diggersâ€”collect the bones, weapons and personal effects of slain World War II soldiers, and find that even among the dead there are surprises,"Stalinâ€™s Ghost" is replete with Martin Cruz Smithâ€™s trademark wit, dark humor and action. In this tale of Arkady Renko, Smith has again fashioned an unforgettable character as cynical as Philip Marlowe, but with the heart of a Chekhovian Everyman. The reader is treated to an unparalleled thriller woven with a depth of humanity found in the finest literature.
Mystery,Fiction,Cultural,Russia,Thriller,Mystery,Crime,Mystery,Detective,Thriller,Mystery Thriller,Suspense,Audiobook,Novels
Stalin's Ghost