This is a very dark detective story. The investigation takes Renko to Chernobyl, where he engages with survivors of the nuclear accident and with scientists who work in the area. The descriptions of the place are one of the best parts of the novel, and Martin Cruz manages to convey well the sadness of the abandoned villages and the a menacing, radioactive, contaminated landscape . He solves his case, but discovers that the disaster which was Chernobyl remains and it is still influencing the lives of those who were damaged by it. ( )

Hard to go wrong with Arkady Renko: the cynical, skeptical, hard-eyed police detective who is a fish-out-of-water in the New Russia of kleptocrats, extreme wealth and materialism, rampant corruption and incompetence; a fish-out-of-water because he cares about doing a job well, pursuing an investigation into wrongdoing wherever it might lead and whomever it might discomfort, and underneath his world weariness, a heart of compassion and sympathy for the underdog. This story centres on intrigues of retribution that spin out of the Chernobyl disaster. A god plot, well paced, good characters, a quick but enjoyable read.

(First published at Blogcritics at http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/...)

Martin Cruz Smith introduced Arkady Renko in Gorky Park in 1982 as a Moscow detective, when Moscow was still the capital of the Evil Empire. He brought him back three more times in succeeding years, as the world changed. In this fifth novel, Renko is an investigator for the Moscow prosecutor, investigating fraud and corruption among the new Russian oligarchs.

[The following may contain minor spoilers.]

The story is that the head of a financial empire leaps to his death from his apartment, for no apparent reason. The dead man had been a promising physicist in the old Russia, and had become a successful businessman—as corrupt as many. His closet was full of salt. At the risk of spoiling the story, his apartment was radioactive—someone had put a few grains of cesium in the salt, and has been tormenting the deceased this way for weeks. The dead man's lieutenant is later found dead on the outskirts of Chernobyl, which leads Renko to the dead zone around the reactor site, north of Kiev, looking for the connections between the dead men, the dead zone and the 1986 nuclear accident.

In the dead zone, he encounters brutal and corrupt police, scavengers and old Ukranian peasants trying to hold on to their lives on the land, at the end of their years. The land and the wildlife, in spite of the radiation, are making a comeback, to the delight of a sinister ecologist.

Smith's understanding of Russia is more likely based on literature and news than on close contact with the land and the people, but he is conscientious and respectful. He fills his narrative with geographic and historical details. While he has several stock characters, he avoids stereotypes. Renko was a mildly exotic detective in 1982—honest, a little idealistic in a brutal and corrupt system, hoping for better, daring to care. In 2004, after years of corruption and violence, he still dares to hope.

Smith is a superior writer. His non-Renko novels, for instance Stallion Gate and Rose are good, and the Renko series is solidly written. This particular book has most of the strengths of his other work—solid characters, a vivid sense of place, a carefully-developed plot. The murder method and some plot elements of this book are a little over the top. On the other hand, Smith's visualization of the dead zone is dramatic and thoughtful. It isn't among his best books, but it is a solid part of the series. ( )

When I initially read this book last year, I hated it so much that I stopped reading it after about 50 pages and I wrote a very negative review on Amazon. But after reading the next book in the series, "Stalin's Ghost", I decided to go back and read this one again to see if I had misjudged it.

I managed to finish it this time and now I can say that the book is not that bad but it is not fantastic either. It is definately the weakest book of the series. It is also the darkest and the most pessimistic of them all.

A Russian billionaire, Pasha Ivanov takes a suicidal dive out of his apartment window holding a salt shaker. Arkady Renko wants to investigate but his boss, Prosecutor Zurin firmly declares it a suicide and shuts the case down. But like a persistant dog, Renko looks into the case and discovers that Ivanov may have had plenty of reasons to jump out of that window - and they all lead to Chernobyl - the Zone of Exclusion. So Zurin - determined to get rid of Renko - decides to assign him there - which Renko is mostly happy about because Ivanov's partner is found there dead with his throat slashed.

But many people at Chernobyl are not happy to see Renko make progress. They have their own secrets to protect and their own enterprises to run. Renko also has to deal with a little boy back in Moscow called Zhenya and a beautiful woman in Chernobyl called Eva who seems to be falling for him.

I found getting through this book a bit tough going and I am a big Renko fan. But it gets easier with "Stalin's Ghost". ( )

For me the crime mystery, although it obviously drove the plot forward, was less important than the stories of the main characters. The Chernobyl setting was an extraordinary one, for me this is an example of a novel which gives a better account of a situation than a straight factual one, given that the acknowledgements suggest it was well researched (and there had been an account recently in the Independent of how the local wildlife are thriving there, coping better with radiation than with human society.). It also gives a fascinating account of modern Russia. Its moral dimension adds depth and interest. The writing is crisp, ironic and atmospheric. A really good read. ( )