Three Stations
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Review
'Every bit as invigorating as the book with which he first burst on to the scene in 1981, Gorky Park . . . Three Stations is if anything even better and, featuring a wealthy oligarch who has made himself unpopular with the regime, it couldn't be timelier . . . It's peerless stuff with a pungent evocation of modern Russia in all its vitality and corruption' --Barry Forshaw, Express
'Cruz Smith retains his talent for providing a convincing social and political backdrop . . . Heaps of atmosphere amid the corruption of new Moscow' --The Times
'Another brilliantly atmospheric thriller starring the increasingly disillusioned but still frantically fair and perceptive Arkady Renko' --Daily Mirror
'Whilst other crime writers have similarly followed a single metropolis over decades, none of their cities has seen changes as convulsive as those undergone by Renko's Moscow - The serial-killer whodunit allows Cruz Smith to depict a Moscow rancid in all its layers . . . This is a vision of a modern hell, echoing the urban infernos of Dickens and Dostoevsky where the virtuous similarly fight not to be crushed and corrupted . . . Cruz Smith's impressive descriptive gifts make it at once appalling and mesmerising' --Sunday Times
'Tenderness and terrifying violence vie for your attention in Three Stations . . . Once started, you will race to learn how the tale unfolds' --Bookseller's Choice, The Bookseller
'Martin Cruz Smith does not disappoint...Great crime fiction is also social criticism and the author's research into the seamy side of Russian reality lifts him high above the hack thriller writer...it (Three Stations) remains a top-notch Renko thriller, atmospheric and bleakly humorous.' --Evening Standard
'Cruz Smith retains his talent for providing a convincing social and political backdrop . . . Heaps of atmosphere amid the corruption of new Moscow' --The Times
'Another brilliantly atmospheric thriller starring the increasingly disillusioned but still frantically fair and perceptive Arkady Renko' --Daily Mirror
'Whilst other crime writers have similarly followed a single metropolis over decades, none of their cities has seen changes as convulsive as those undergone by Renko's Moscow - The serial-killer whodunit allows Cruz Smith to depict a Moscow rancid in all its layers . . . This is a vision of a modern hell, echoing the urban infernos of Dickens and Dostoevsky where the virtuous similarly fight not to be crushed and corrupted . . . Cruz Smith's impressive descriptive gifts make it at once appalling and mesmerising' --Sunday Times
'Tenderness and terrifying violence vie for your attention in Three Stations . . . Once started, you will race to learn how the tale unfolds' --Bookseller's Choice, The Bookseller
'Martin Cruz Smith does not disappoint...Great crime fiction is also social criticism and the author's research into the seamy side of Russian reality lifts him high above the hack thriller writer...it (Three Stations) remains a top-notch Renko thriller, atmospheric and bleakly humorous.' --Evening Standard
Product Description
The stunning new thriller from the author of Gorky Park and Stalin's Ghost
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There is something not right with this book but I can't quite put my finger on it. Sometimes the burden of writing about the same characters seems to become too much for an author to sustain as time goes on. Publishers and the public want more of the same but after a time it seems to get harder and harder to keep it fresh and keep it tight. This is not the best Arkady Renko story - all the elements are there - Moscow, a city of wild schemes and broken dreams - grubby,vibrant,menacing - Arkady, the good man who refuses to be ground down. There are strong story threads - a girl escaping to Moscow from the provinces, a theme that has been played out in real life every day for years,the relationship between Arkady and the damaged troubled boy he has befriended. Put it all together and this should have been a classic but it just isn't - just like a part cooked pizza, this story is soggy in the middle. Characters are just storyboard sketches. The attention to plot detail seems have drifted.
It's not just the author - look at the cover - a train in the snow emerging from a forest - is it the Taiga? Possibly except that the locomotives look suspiciously American.
It's not just the author - look at the cover - a train in the snow emerging from a forest - is it the Taiga? Possibly except that the locomotives look suspiciously American.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a disappointment. Arkady Renko is absolutely my favourite character and I re-read the previous books regularly. Three Stations is Renko lite. Compared to previous books the characters are undeveloped and the "plots" feeble and improbable. Had this been my first book by Martin Cruz Smith it would have been my last. A pity because the book has the makings of another outstanding story but the impression is that the author has lost interest in his character (or is writing with a film script in mind). Even the actual text of the story was poor - two canvas bags suddenly turn into two baskets, skirts become shirts etc.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read and enjoyed all of the Renko novels since Gorky Park, but this was a real disappointment. It feels more like a first draft than a finished novel. Few of the storylines seem fully developed - why was Renko suspended and then reinstated? The oligarch story doesn't really go anywhere. The final scenes are telescoped so much that it seems as if the publisher was knocking on the door because the book was late. Also, the unremittingly pessimistic image of Russia is beginning to become somewhat tedious. A shame, but I think Zurin is right - it's time for Renko to be retired.
At only 240 pages it's also a lot shorter than the other novels in the series. I feel even more cheated as i got the hardback version rather than waiting for the paperback.
At only 240 pages it's also a lot shorter than the other novels in the series. I feel even more cheated as i got the hardback version rather than waiting for the paperback.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Three stations
The book wasn't as engaging as others by Cruz Smith, however it was still enjoyable and worth the effort to find.
Published 4 days ago by JEnigma
Renko returns to the mean streets of Moscow
In the years since Investigator Arkady Renko's first appearance in Gorky Park his fortunes have waxed and waned with the politics of Russia. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Aidan J. McQuade
Mental chewing gum
This book was quite good as far as Cruz Smith goes - I only read this kind of thing to keep my brain on tickover in between reading serious modern history stuff. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Paradigmshift
Not that bad!
Whilst agreeing with much of what is said in other reviews here, I found that having finally got around to buying this and fearing the worst I thought it was O.K. Read more
Published 4 months ago by David Edgar
three stations
if you have followed arkady renko stories this book will not disappoint.full of the usual mystery;you feel at one with this off beat detective.
Published 5 months ago by caeser1
Happy so many others agreed! I'm disappointed in you Mr. Smith
As a huge fan of Russian history, and indeed of crime/detective fiction, the Arkady Renko was a recipe for success. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Christine Melby
Gritty Look at the "New" Russia from the Point of View of the Most...
And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Donald Mitchell
Not the best
Like other reviewers I started with Gorki Park and have enjoyed all of the Renko novels. This latest offering was readable but far weaker, lacking the continuity, length, and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Vertigo
AN example of what the 1* and 2* reviewers are on about
Just to give an example of what the 1* and 2* reviewers are on about. On pages 24 - 27 you have a detailed description of the long-standing character Zhenya observing Maya being... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Maskahl
Three Stations by Martin Cruz Smith
As a big fan of the Arkady Renko novels, I'd been waiting with great anticipation to get stuck into Three Stations. Read more
Published 8 months ago by MarkF
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