'Excellently written and peopled by memorably strange
characters...a dazzling panoramic portrait of Russia today.'

'Rounded characters and powerful images are hallmark of this fine
writer.'

'Renko is as compelling as ever.'

'Stalin's Ghost is a visceral vision of modern Russia in all its
splendour and squalor.'

Moscow lies deep under snow, and Arkady Renko is called in to handle a delicate matter: passengers riding the last metro of the night have reported seeing the ghost of Stalin on the platform edge. Not everyone, it seems, likes the fact that Stalin is dead ...But in the midst of a blizzard nothing is as it first appears to be. Renko's girlfriend Eva and his adopted son, Zhenya, seem to be slipping into danger. The owner of a matrimonial agency wants her husband killed. An innocent 'Russian Bride' employs a garrotte. A chess grandmaster wanders into Renko's life and leads him into the line of fire. Diehard Communists gather to sing along with Stalin. 'Red Diggers' uncover secrets buried for half century in a desolate forest and Renko discovers ghosts that have been waiting for him all his life ...As Russia swings more and more to the right, Renko is more and more out of step. Not only an original and deeply humane thriller, "Stalin's Ghost" is also a wonderful evocation of the emerging New Russia.

Praise for Martin Cruz Smith: "Cruz 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".

2008-06-08 SOVIET GHOSTS IN MODERN RUSSIA

Martin Cruz Smith is to Russian psyche what James Clavell was to Far East ethos: a master author that is able to capture and masterfully convey the natives' perspective and an outsider's amazement at the same time.

From Soviet inefficiency and corruption, to the transitional plutocracy flaunting their stolen billions and political clout, and to present day totalitarian oligarchy struggling to consolidate its power, the Russian winter of discontent seems never to end. And in the middle of it all, good old Arkady.

The self-destructive and detached police investigator who knows not when to quit; who knows not how to play the political cards; who will take anything thrown at him; who never takes his eyes from the ball; and who will surprise every so often with his insight or luck, even he cannot be sure.

Soviet era ghosts stir up trouble in modern Russia. Stalin's apparitions seem to be visiting the Moscow Metro station that served as his underground bunker during WWII. Arkady will get stuck with the case of investigating the claims and its implications because of his father special relationship with the tovarich - and because he is expendable, not to mention a constant thorn in the side of his superiors. The way he drinks cheap vodka and brushes the wrong way with powerful underworld characters, he might believe so himself. But then again never underestimate the perceverence of the Russian desperation.

If new to the series, I would advise starting with GORKY PARK and work your way to this one: you will get a panorama of Russian society in the last 30 years. Nevertheless, STALIN's GHOST is a perfect standalone gem on itself.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!