Books: Siberian Dilemma - By Martin Cruz Smith

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Do you know Moscow`s criminal investigator Arkadi Renko?  This is a fictional character in a series of popular crime novels by the American author Martin Cruz Smith. The series  started with the novel "Gorky Park", published 1981 and set in Moscow in the 1980s. Then Arkadi Renko was investigating some grizzly murders and had to struggle with corruption and the political dangers of real socialism.

I just finished reading "Siberian Dilemma", the newest Arkadi Renko novel, this time set in contemporary Russia ( amazon).  Putin & his comrades had replaced the Communist leaders, but the criminal investigator is still struggling with political dangers and an opaque system. I enjoyed the book, as I had "Gorki Park" and other Arkadi Renko novels, because the investigator is a very likable character. He is smart, but also stubborn and follows his cases against all political and other risks. Arkadi travels to Irkutsk, known as the "Paris of Siberia", to find his girlfriend Tanja, an ambitious journalist who is investigating the lives of 2 Russian oligarchs and oil billionaires (this is a spoiler free blog).

"Siberian Dilemma" is partly a detective story, but also a glance into the shallows of contemporary Russian economy & politics, served with a grim sense of humor & psychology. The plot has long slow moving parts, spiced with musings about modern Russia, but there are also some really scary encounters and dramatic events - perfectly developed page turners. I indulged into Smith`s intense narrations of the loneliness & beauty of the wintery taiga and could almost feel the Siberian chill.

"Siberian Dilemma" is a felicitous installment of a strong series of novels.