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Description edit see section history

"Brilliant...One of the best books of the season." ASSOCIATED PRESS 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... read more

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Characters/People edit see section history

  • Arkady Renko: A chief investigator for the Soviet Militsiya in Moscow, where he is in charge of homicide investigations. Arkady is a mystery . It is not clear what motivates him other than an overwhelming need for justice. He has amazing stoicism in the face of opposition and danger. That should make him a little incredible but it doesn`t. He is constantly interesting.
  • Major Pribluda: A KGB officer.
  • Irina Asanova: A dancer unpopular in official circles.
  • James Kirwill: An American detective.
  • John Osborne: A wealthy American fur trader.
  • Iamskoi: A Soviet official.
  • Misha Tsarentza: A colleague of Renko's.
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Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Moscow: Capital of Russia, seat of government of the Soviet Union.
  • New York
  • Gorky park: A popular and symbolically important park in Moscow.
  • Leningrad: Russian city also called St. Petersburg.
  • Shatura: A rural area far from Moscow.

First Sentence edit see section history

ALL NIGHTS should be so dark, all winters so warm, all headlights so dazzling.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 7 in Arkady Renko. (standard series)

Followed by Polar Star.

Preceded by The Beast Must Die, and followed by Death Comes As the End.

This is book 5 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels In 1981. (authoritative list)

Preceded by An Indecent Obsession, and followed by Masquerade: The Complete Book with the Answer Explained.

This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 33 of 99 in NPR's Top 100 Killer Thriller. (community list)

Preceded by Gone, Baby, Gone, and followed by Rosemary's Baby.

This is book 35 of 100 in Top 100 Mysteries of All Time (Mystery Writers of America, 1995). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Double Indemnity, and followed by Strong Poison.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Martin Cruz Smith (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Edito-Service
Country: Geneva, Switzerland
Publication Date: 1982
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 364

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3569.M5377 G6 1982
  • Dewey: 813.54

Movie Connections edit see section history


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