A passenger train hurtling through the night. An unwed teenage mother headed to Moscow to seek a new life. A cruel-hearted soldier looking furtively, forcibly, for sex. An infant disappearing without a trace.
So begins Martin Cruz Smith's masterful "Three Stations," a suspenseful, intricately constructed novel featuring Investigator Arkady Renko. For the last three decades, beginning with the trailblazing "Gorky Park," Renko (and Smith) have captivated readers with detective tales set in Russia. Renko is the ironic, brilliantly observant cop who finds solutions to heinous crimes when other lawmen refuse to even acknowledge that crimes have occurred. He uses his biting humor and intuitive leaps to fight not only wrongdoers but the corrupt state apparatus as well.
In "Three Stations," Renko's skills are put to their most severe test. Though he has been technically suspended from the prosecutor's office for once again turning up unpleasant truths, he strives to solve a last case: the death of an elegant young woman whose body is found in a construction trailer on the perimeter of Moscow's main rail hub. It looks like a simple drug overdose to everyone--except to Renko, whose examination of the crime scene turns up some inexplicable clues, most notably an invitation to Russia's premier charity ball, the billionaires' Nijinksy Fair. Thus a sordid death becomes interwoven with the lifestyles of Moscow's rich and famous, many of whom are clinging to their cash in the face of Putin's crackdown on the very oligarchs who placed him in power.
Renko uncovers a web of death, money, madness and a kidnapping that threatens the woman he is coming to love and the lives of children he is desperate to protect. In "Three Stations," Smith produces a complex and haunting vision of an emergent Russia's secret underclass of street urchins, greedy thugs and a bureaucracy still paralyzed by power and fear.
"
"

‘The later Renko novels are stark, spare and beautiful, like trees in winter. Martin Cruz Smith does more on a page than most writers manage in a chapter. He is unique and irreplaceable’ MICK HERRON ARKADY RENKO IS BACK . . .   Renko has been confined to a desk job by his superiors to keep him out of the way. Although he’s more disillusioned with policing and the general state of Russia than ever, he feels an odd sense of hope. A rebellion is bubbling in the country, with new values butting heads against old-school regimes. People want change and politician Leonid Lebedev could be the man to do it.   When Karina, a staunch supporter of Lebedev and member of the Forum, goes missing, Renko is asked by her father to find her. Soon after his investigation begins, Alex, a close friend of Arkady’s son, is found dead. He was also a member of the Forum.   The night before his murder, Alex sent Arkady a cryptic message, simply containing three pictures of Russian writers. The link between the pictures is there, if only Renko could see it.   But Arkady has just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and the physical and psychological effects of the disease are taking their toll. This time, he must fight more than the impenetrable Russian regime to get answers – he will need to fight himself.  PRAISE FOR MARTIN CRUZ SMITH: ‘Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary’ Guardian ‘One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe’ Val McDermid ‘Martin Cruz Smith writes with an immediacy, depth and lightness of touch that is rare in its combination, and impossible to resist . . . Independence Square is no exception, and further crystallises Cruz Smith as one of the finest writers of our age’ Charlotte Philby ​ ‘The undisputed master of the political crime thriller’ Abir Mukherjee 'A moving portrayal of struggle against political and personal tides' New York Times

A Moscow detective is sent to Chernobyl for a frightening case in the most spectacular entry yet in Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko series.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 yet: 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.

Martin Cruz Smith's "masterful" ("USA TODAY") and "irresistible" ("People") "New York Times" bestseller and "Washington Post" notable book of the year: Arkady Renko must connect the dots among a Russian journalist's mysterious death, corrupt politicians, murderous gangsters, and brazen bureaucrats.
Arkady Renko, one of the iconic investigators of contemporary fiction, has survived the cultural journey from the Soviet Union to the New Russia, only to find the nation as obsessed with secrecy and brutality as was the old Communist dictatorship. In "Tatiana," the melancholy hero unravels a mystery as complex and dangerous as modern Russia itself.
The reporter Tatiana Petrovna falls to her death from a sixth-floor window in Moscow the same week that a mob billionaire is shot and buried with the trappings due a lord. The trail leads to Kaliningrad, a Cold War "secret city" that is separated by hundreds of miles from the rest of Russia. The more Arkady delves into Tatiana's past, the more she leads him into a surreal world of wandering sand dunes, abandoned children, and a notebook written in the personal code of a dead translator. Finally, in a lethal race to uncover what the translator knew, Renko makes a startling discovery that draws him still deeper into Tatiana's past--and, paradoxically, into Russia's future, where bulletproof cars, poets, corruption of the Baltic Fleet, and a butcher for hire combine to give Kaliningrad the "distinction" of having the highest crime rate in Russia.
More than a mystery, "Tatiana" is Martin Cruz Smith's most ambitious and politically daring novel since "Gorky Park." It is a story rich in character, black humor, and romance, with an insight that is the hallmark of a writer "The" "New York Times" has called "endlessly entertaining and deeply serious... not merely] our best writer of suspense, but of one of our best writers, period."

'Forty years ago, Gorky Park established a new high-water mark for the thriller. It has yet to be surpassed' Mick Herron 'One of the greatest detective novels of the 1980s' Adrian McKinty SOME CRIMES REFUSE TO BE FORGOTTEN It begins with a triple murder in a Moscow amusement park: three corpses found frozen in the snow, faces and fingers missing. Chief homicide investigator Arkady Renko is cynical about everything except his profession. To identify the victims and uncover the truth, he must battle the KGB, FBI, and the New York City police as he pursues a rich and ruthless American fur dealer. Meanwhile, Renko falls in love with a beautiful, headstrong dissident for whom he may risk everything . . . READ THE NOVEL THAT INSPIRED A GENERATION 'One of the seminal books in the canon of crime fiction' Abir Mukherjee 'Gorky Park remains a dazzling and incisive portrait of a terrifying political regime' Kate Rhodes 'A rich sumptuous feast of a novel, the sort of book you want to immerse yourself in' Russ Thomas 'A sumptuous and chilling depiction of life and lies in the Soviet Union' Rory Clements 'Gorky Park was my first real introduction to the immense possibilities of the crime novel as work that truly transcends its genre' Jacob Ross 'An urgent, contemporary game changer forty years ago, now a historical classic' Martyn Waites 'One of the greatest crime novels ever written' Tim Baker 'A timeless thriller . . . Cruz-Smith delivers an absolute masterclass in tension' Caz Frear 'A true masterpiece' Rod Reynolds 'Simply, why the thriller genre must exist. Brilliant' Chris Hauty 'Martin Cruz Smith is the master and Gorky Park is his masterpiece' William Ryan

‘The later Renko novels are stark, spare and beautiful, like trees in winter. Martin Cruz Smith does more on a page than most writers manage in a chapter. He is unique and irreplaceable’ MICK HERRON ARKADY RENKO IS BACK . . .   Renko has been confined to a desk job by his superiors to keep him out of the way. Although he’s more disillusioned with policing and the general state of Russia than ever, he feels an odd sense of hope. A rebellion is bubbling in the country, with new values butting heads against old-school regimes. People want change and politician Leonid Lebedev could be the man to do it.   When Karina, a staunch supporter of Lebedev and member of the Forum, goes missing, Renko is asked by her father to find her. Soon after his investigation begins, Alex, a close friend of Arkady’s son, is found dead. He was also a member of the Forum.   The night before his murder, Alex sent Arkady a cryptic message, simply containing three pictures of Russian writers. The link between the pictures is there, if only Renko could see it.   But Arkady has just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and the physical and psychological effects of the disease are taking their toll. This time, he must fight more than the impenetrable Russian regime to get answers – he will need to fight himself.  PRAISE FOR MARTIN CRUZ SMITH: ‘Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary’ Guardian ‘One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe’ Val McDermid ‘Martin Cruz Smith writes with an immediacy, depth and lightness of touch that is rare in its combination, and impossible to resist . . . Independence Square is no exception, and further crystallises Cruz Smith as one of the finest writers of our age’ Charlotte Philby ​ ‘The undisputed master of the political crime thriller’ Abir Mukherjee ‘Cruz Smith’s most powerful and engaging novel since Gorky Park’ Paul Burke, CrimeTime FM

In his groundbreaking Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith created one of the iconic investigators of contemporary fiction, Arkady Renko. In Tatiana, Smith delivers his most ambitious and politically daring novel since. When the brilliant and fearless young reporter Tatiana Petrovna falls to her death from a sixth-floor window in Moscow in the same week that notorious mob billionaire Grisha Grigorenko is shot in the back of the head, Renko finds himself on the trail of a mystery as complex and dangerous as modern Russia itself. The body of an elite government translator shows up on the sand dunes of Kalingrad: killed for nothing but a cryptic notebook filled with symbols. A frantic hunt begins to locate and decipher this notebook. In a fast-changing and lethal race to uncover what this translator knew, and how he planned to reveal it to the world, Renko makes a startling discovery that propels him deeper into Tatiana's past - and, at the same time, paradoxically, into Russia's future.

Don't miss the latest book in the Arkady Renko series, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA by Martin Cruz Smith, 'the master of the international thriller' (New York Times) - available to order now! THE NOVEL THAT STARTED IT ALL - ARKADY RENKO NOVEL #1 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin' Independent *** Three bodies found frozen in the snow. And the hunt for the killer begins... It begins with a triple murder in a Moscow amusement center: three corpses found frozen in the snow, faces and fingers missing. Chief homicide investigator Arkady Renko is brilliant, sensitive, honest, and cynical about everything except his profession. To identify the victims and uncover the truth, he must battle the KGB, FBI, and the New York City police as he pursues a rich, ruthless, and well-connected American fur dealer. Meanwhile, Renko is falling in love with a beautiful, headstrong dissident for whom he may risk everything. A wonderfully textured, vivid look behind the Iron Curtain, Gorky Park is a tense, atmospheric, and memorable crime story. Praise for Martin Cruz Smith 'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity - a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Cleverly and intelligently told, The Girl from Venice is a truly riveting tale of love, mystery and rampant danger. I loved it' Kate Furnivall, author of The Liberation 'Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday 'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian 'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph' Sunday Times 'Martin Cruz Smith's Renko novels are superb' William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier

A collection of nineteen stories of revenge, betrayal, and treachery from the International Association of Crime Writers and some of the world's most well-known authors. There are assassins and seducers, stolen plans, and intricate games of cat and mouse. The universal rule, however, is that no one gets to write their memoirs.

'Martin Cruz Smith's deftness of touch, lightness of humour and depth of knowledge are on display as ever in The Siberian Dilemma' Observer 'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin' Independent Investigator Arkady Renko, described as 'one of the most compelling figures in modern fiction' by USA Today, finds himself travelling deep into Siberia when journalist Tatiana Petrovna disappears on a case.Journalist Tatiana Petrovna has disappeared. Arkady Renko, iconic Moscow investigator and Tatiana's on-off lover, hasn't seen her since she left on a case over a month ago. No one else thinks Renko should be worried - Tatiana is known to disappear during deep assignments - but he knows her enemies all too well and the criminal lengths they will go to keep her quiet. Given the opportunity to interrogate a suspected assassin in Irkutsk, Renko embarks on a dangerous journey to Siberia to find Tatiana and bring her back. Renko finds Siberia to be a land of shamans and brutally cold nights, oligarchs wealthy on northern oil and sea monsters that are said to prowl the deepest lake in the world. With these forces at work against him, Renko will need all his wits about him to get Tatiana out alive. From the revered author of crime classic Gorky Park comes the brilliant ninth novel featuring the iconic Arkady Renko. Praise for Martin Cruz Smith 'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity - a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday 'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian 'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph' Sunday Times

Don't miss the latest book in the Arkady Renko series, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA by Martin Cruz Smith, 'the master of the international thriller' (New York Times) - available to order now! 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin' Independent From the creator of the revered Arkady Renko series and bestselling author of Gorky Park comes a suspenseful World War II story set against the beauty, mystery and danger of occupied Venice. Venice, 1945. The war may be waning, but the city known as La Serenissima is still occupied and the people of Italy fear the power of the Third Reich. One night, under a canopy of stars, a fisherman named Cenzo finds a young woman's body floating in the lagoon and soon discovers that she is still alive and in trouble. Born to a wealthy Jewish family, Giulia is on the run from the Wehrmacht SS. Cenzo chooses to protect Giulia - an act of kindness that leads them into the world of Partisans, Mussolini's broken promises, and, everywhere, the enigmatic maze of the Venice Lagoon... Praise for Martin Cruz Smith 'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity - a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Cleverly and intelligently told, The Girl from Venice is a truly riveting tale of love, mystery and rampant danger. I loved it' Kate Furnivall, author of The Liberation 'Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday 'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian 'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph' Sunday Times 'Martin Cruz Smith's Renko novels are superb' William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier

Don't miss the latest book in the Arkady Renko series, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA by Martin Cruz Smith, 'the master of the international thriller' (New York Times) - available to order now! AN ARKADY RENKO NOVEL: #7 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin' Independent *** Investigator Arkady Renko has been suspended from the Moscow prosecutor's office for smashing through the corruption of Russia's underbelly to uncover unpleasant truths. Despite this, he strives to solve a final case: a young woman is found dead in a work shed on the perimeter of Moscow's main rail hub, and Renko is the only one who recognises it to be more than a simple drug overdose. The case quickly unveils itself as an entangled web of murder, money and madness that stretches from the lowest of street urchins to the powerful billionaires, uncovering the extent of corruption and fear in an emergent Russia. Praise for Martin Cruz Smith 'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity - a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child 'Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday 'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian 'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph' Sunday Times 'Martin Cruz Smith's Renko novels are superb' William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier

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.

Don't miss the latest book in the Arkady Renko series, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA by Martin Cruz Smith, 'the master of the international thriller' (New York Times) - available to order now! AN ARKADY RENKO NOVEL: #4 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin' Independent *** Former Inspector for the Moscow Militsiya, Arkady Renko, is summoned to Cuba to identify a liquefying corpse, dragged from the oily waters of Havana Bay. Renko finds himself in a decaying country, the final recess of Communism - a place where Russia is despised, exotic rituals take precedence and unexpected danger meets bewildering contradictions. After a harrowing experience that has left Renko on the verge of suicide, this new mystery leads him on a trail of deceit that reaches international proportions, and gives him a reason to relish his own life again. Praise for Martin Cruz Smith 'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity - a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Cleverly and intelligently told, The Girl from Venice is a truly riveting tale of love, mystery and rampant danger. I loved it' Kate Furnivall, author of The Liberation 'Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday 'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian 'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph' Sunday Times 'Martin Cruz Smith's Renko novels are superb' William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier

1922, Tokyo. Harry Niles is a 'wild child', an American boy in a strange country, ignored by his missionary parents, he begins to lead his life in the Tokyo underworld. One night, he is charged with delivering a painting to an enigmatic figure, the samurai Ishigami. It is an encounter that will haunt Harry Niles forever... 1937, Nanking. China is under attack. The Japanese army is brutally and systematically murdering and raping the local population. In the midst of this horror, Harry finds himself face to face once again with Lieutenant Ishigami. But for the samurai warrior, their meeting leads to the greatest possible dishonour - public humiliation. 1941, Tokyo. With the attack on Pearl Harbour only days away, Japan is on the brink of war with the United States. Harry Niles has become a man of many faces. Allying himself with both sides, he treads a dangerous - but profitable - path between the fading glory of the Chrysantheum Club, where the city's banking and industrial elite meet, and the shadowy Tokyo underworld.

Don't miss the latest book in the Arkady Renko series, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA by Martin Cruz Smith, 'the master of the international thriller' (New York Times) - available to order now! AN ARKADY RENKO NOVEL: #5 'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val McDermid 'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin' Independent *** The iron curtain has fallen and a screen of nouveau capitalism stands in its place. Though the New Russia is foreign to Renko, the corruption and brutality that he encounters are all too familiar. The seeming suicide of one of Russia's new billionaires leads Arkady Renko to Chernobyl and the Zone of Exclusion, the still radioactive site of great catastrophe - a spectral netherworld populated by the corrupted, the obstinate and the reckless . . . Praise for Martin Cruz Smith 'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity - a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child 'Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday 'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian 'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph' Sunday Times 'Martin Cruz Smith's Renko novels are superb' William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier

The body, what was left of it, was drifting in Havana Bay the morning Arkady arrived from Moscow. The Cubans insisted that the body was his friend Pribluda, but Arkady wasn't so sure. The Communist world has shrunk to Cuba. Havana is a city of empty stones and talking drums, Karl Marx and sharp machetes - not welcoming place if you're a Russian, particularly if you're a Russian investigating the death of another Russian. But Arkady is used to being unpopular. He's even used to losing friends. 'If there's a more intoxicating and intriguing setting for a thriller than Moscow, Smith has found it in Havana. Sheer class' Daily Mirror 'I hope a copy of this top-notch thriller reaches Castro as he wises up to the mobsters currently at his gate' Independent 'As in Gorky Park, Cruz Smith is outstanding on background. The feel of Havana is sensuously rendered' Sunday Times

ARKADY RENKO IS BACK . . .

Renko has been confined to a desk job by his superiors to keep him out of the way. Although he's more disillusioned with policing and the general state of Russia than ever, he feels an odd sense of hope. A rebellion is bubbling in the country, with new values butting heads against old-school regimes. But Arkady has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's and the physical and psychological effects of the disease are taking their toll.

This time, he must fight more than the impenetrable Russian regime to get answers - he will need to fight himself.

He made too many enemies. He lost his party membership. Once Moscow's top criminal investigator, Arkady Renko now toils in obscurity on a Russian factory ship working with American trawlers in the middle of the Bering Sea. But when an adventurous female crew member is picked up dead with the day's catch, Renko is ordered by his captain to investigate an accident that has all the marks of murder. Up against the celebrated Soviet bureaucracy once more, Renko must again become the obsessed, dedicated cop he was in "Gorky Park" and solve a chilling mystery fraught with international complications.
"Stunning.""
-The New York Times Book Review"
"Impossible to put down . . . a book of heart-stopping suspense and intricate plotting, but also a meticulously researched, ambitious literary work of great distinction."
"-The Detroit News
"
"Martin Cruz Smith writes the most inventive thrillers of anyone in the first rank of thriller writers."
"-The Washington Post Book World"
"Gripping . . . absorbing."
"-The Philadelphia Inquirer"