Gorky Park [Paperback]

 

 

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Martin Cruz Smith is a former journalist and magazine editor. "Gorky Park" is his first novel to feature Arkady Renko, was first published in 1981 and is largely set in the Moscow before the collapse of the USSR. Renko, the hero, works as the Chief Homicide Investigator for Moscow's militia - unlike the KGB, who deal with matters if 'State interest', the militia are more or less the standard police force. Renko, therefore, deals with the 'everyday' murders. Displaying one unfortunate trait for a homicide investigator, however, he has a distinct aversion to corpses - though he has a 100% success rate in clearing cases. Unhappily married and somewhat cynical, he's not quite as active a Party member as his wife would like him to be - something that has also had a negative effect on his career. He also appears to be something of a disappointment to his father, a very famous retired General. Renko's boss, Prosecutor Iamskoy, seems to have a certain amount of affection for him though - the Prosecutor actually won an appeal for a worker wrongly convicted of murder thanks to Renko's work.

The book opens in Gorky Park, first park of the Revolution and favoured above all others. Three corpses have been found buried in the snow and, as a result, have been very well preserved. This means that, initially, the time of death can only be estimated as sometime that winter. All three victims - three men and a woman - were all shot through the heart, with the two men also having been shot through the head. The killer, clearly an expert marksman, also has access to a weapon Muscovites cannot typically lay their hands on. No papers could be found on the bodies, which have also been mutilated - the fingerprints and flesh on the faces has been removed, making a quick identification unlikely. One early lead, however, comes from the ice-skates the victims were wearing...

One of the other detectives assigned to the case, Pasha Pavlovich, had worked with Renko previously. Then, three corpses were found at the Kliazma River in remarkably similar circumstances to the Gorky Park killings. The pair immediately suspect the same individual is responsible in this case. However, as the chief suspect at the Kliazma River was a KGB Major called Pribluda, the pair promptly lost that case to the KGB. As Pribluda - who'd actually taken over the Kliazma River case - makes an early appearance at the scene in Gorky Park and interferes with the corpses, Arkady and Pasha expect the KGB to again quickly snatch this case from them. (Pribluda will, of course, be kept right up-to-date : a third detective assigned to the case, Fet, is a known KGB informant). In fact, as the cases progresses, even Renko thinks it looks more and more like a KGB case...though he suspects they would have little desire to 'solve' it.

Overall, a very good book and well worth reading - for me, it would comfortably rest in the top tier of the murder-mystery genre. Renko is a very likeable character and, probably because of his `flaws', is very easy to relate with. Recommended.

Picked up this book at a used book store based on remembering that a movie was made from it.

Loved it and the main character Arkady. Have since read 3 other in the series.

Martin Cruz Smith is a former journalist and magazine editor. "Gorky Park" is his first novel to feature Arkady Renko, was first published in 1981 and is largely set in the Moscow before the collapse of the USSR. Renko, the hero, works as the Chief Homicide Investigator for Moscow's militia - unlike the KGB, who deal with matters if 'State interest', the militia are more or less the standard police force. Renko, therefore, deals with the 'everyday' murders. Displaying one unfortunate trait for a homicide investigator, however, he has a distinct aversion to corpses - though he has a 100% success rate in clearing cases. Unhappily married and somewhat cynical, he's not quite as active a Party member as his wife would like him to be - something that has also had a negative effect on his career. He also appears to be something of a disappointment to his father, a very famous retired General. Renko's boss, Prosecutor Iamskoy, seems to have a certain amount of affection for him though - the Prosecutor actually won an appeal for a worker wrongly convicted of murder thanks to Renko's work.

The book opens in Gorky Park, first park of the Revolution and favoured above all others. Three corpses have been found buried in the snow and, as a result, have been very well preserved. This means that, initially, the time of death can only be estimated as sometime that winter. All three victims - three men and a woman - were all shot through the heart, with the two men also having been shot through the head. The killer, clearly an expert marksman, also has access to a weapon Muscovites cannot typically lay their hands on. No papers could be found on the bodies, which have also been mutilated - the fingerprints and flesh on the faces has been removed, making a quick identification unlikely. One early lead, however, comes from the ice-skates the victims were wearing...

One of the other detectives assigned to the case, Pasha Pavlovich, had worked with Renko previously. Then, three corpses were found at the Kliazma River in remarkably similar circumstances to the Gorky Park killings. The pair immediately suspect the same individual is responsible in this case. However, as the chief suspect at the Kliazma River was a KGB Major called Pribluda, the pair promptly lost that case to the KGB. As Pribluda - who'd actually taken over the Kliazma River case - makes an early appearance at the scene in Gorky Park and interferes with the corpses, Arkady and Pasha expect the KGB to again quickly snatch this case from them. (Pribluda will, of course, be kept right up-to-date : a third detective assigned to the case, Fet, is a known KGB informant). In fact, as the cases progresses, even Renko thinks it looks more and more like a KGB case...though he suspects they would have little desire to 'solve' it.

Overall, a very good book and well worth reading - for me, it would comfortably rest in the top tier of the murder-mystery genre. Renko is a very likeable character and, probably because of his 'flaws', is very easy to relate with. Recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars start of a terrific series
It was unfortunate I saw the Hollywood version of "Gorky Park" before reading the novel. The film does not do justice to the main character or the storyline. Read more

Published on April 19 2004 by Chapulina R

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed and Exciting Thriller
"Gorky Park" came out in 1981, so some of the Cold War references to the KGB and the bad old days are dated, but it remains a top-notch thriller. Read more

Published on Jan 24 2004 by richard_t

5.0 out of 5 stars martin Cruz Smith's at his BEST
Many writers today find a successful formula and stick to it... over and over. The only thing the same from Martin Cruz Smith's works are their high level of excitement,... Read more

Published on July 24 2003 by H. Row

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly GOOD!!
Gorky Park is a wonderful and perfectly-executed attempt to portray a Russian protagonist in a Russian environment challenged by an American killer. Read more

Published on Jun 10 2003 by Ian K

5.0 out of 5 stars A genre classic!
Near the end of Chapter 11, Renko experiences a sharp pang of discomfort as the girl he has entangled in his investigation of three murders puts a cigarette out against the bark... Read more

Published on Mar 14 2003 by templecola

5.0 out of 5 stars Genre classic!
Near the end of Chapter 11, Renko experiences a sharp pang of discomfort as the girl he has entangled in his investigation of three murders puts a cigarette out against the bark... Read more

Published on Dec 31 2002 by templecola

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful detective novel with a dash of Cold War chill
I've always been a great fan of detective, spy and Cold War novels. This book brings out the best of all 3 worlds, but unlike so many American Cold War novels, Smith looks at the... Read more

Published on Dec 2 2002 by Cheryl-Ann Tan

5.0 out of 5 stars The Spy who came in and went back to cold:
Arkydy Renko, an honest hard working, conscientious, public investigator, fights his way through a maze of evil and hostile characters, the cunning, ruthless American... Read more

Published on Oct 14 2002 by Vijay B. Kumar

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful
When GORKY PARK was published in 1981, the Soviet Union was still going on strong. Now with the passage of time the USSR is nothing but a distant memory and the former republics... Read more

Published on July 9 2002 by Angel L. Soto

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, this is a superb book!
I found this book, hardback (first edition, second reprinting) in a charity shop for 49 pence (approx 75 cents US). Read more

Published on Jun 7 2002

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