• Gorky Park

  • The Arkady Renko Novels, Book 1
  • By: Martin Cruz Smith
  • Narrated by: Henry Strozier
  • Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (245 ratings)

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Gorky Park  By  cover art

Gorky Park

By: Martin Cruz Smith
Narrated by: Henry Strozier
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Publisher's summary

Three bodies found frozen in the snow. And the hunt for the killer begins...

A triple murder in Moscow’s famous Gorky Park amusement centre rocks the capital - three corpses found in the snow, so badly mutilated that their identities can’t be verified.

Chief Investigator Arkady Renko from the Moscow police takes the case.

Renko is a brilliant investigator - dangerously so.

Now, to identify the victims and uncover the truth, he must battle the KGB, FBI and the police - and stay alive doing it...

©1981 Martin Cruz Smith (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"You'll be engrossed in the atmospheric setting and the complexity of Renko's pained character." (Observer)

"One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe." (Val McDermid)

What listeners say about Gorky Park

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not as great as I heard it would be

Rather trite, obvious book. Seems that it was popular for its subject matter in the era it was released more than its content.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

narrator is terrible

narrator is terrible, mispronounces words that are common and sometimes stops mid sentence to swallow or is busy gagging.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Top ten favorite.

A stellar book, compelling, human, thrilling, beautifully written and read. The characters become so “real” as the story unfolds, one begins to imagine them as such, caring for them in different ways and wondering how their lives have unfolded as the years roll along. Arkady, with his desires and flaws, his brilliant inquiring mind, and self-deprecating inner world-a fiercely fantastic main character. The descriptions of terrain, weather, attire, cold, stench, physicality, the dark humor… all bring a singular clarity to the fullness of each encounter, every scene flawlessly revealed. It is a privilege to read, listen to, this painfully beautiful book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Headline

I had seen and liked the movie but the book gave a lot more depth. The set up of Soviet detective is a great idea and I wish more authors would try change ups like this.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mispronunciations distracting

The story is great and most of the narration. However, how could the producers of this recording not insist that the narrator pronounce the protagonist's name correctly??? I have consulted a dozen sites for the correct way to say the name Arkady, and it is, as I suspected, Ar-KAH'-dee, not ARK'-uh-dee. Good grief! Also, lapis lazuli- strangest pronunciation ever. And a few others. But the main character's name?? That you hear over and over? Really!!!!

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • PR
  • 10-23-20

Great story, narrator not the best.

Guess I've gotten spoiled by some superstar narrators like George Guidell. This one was ok, but hard to tell when he was changing characters. Kind of detracted from the story, which was VERY enjoyable!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

narrator has no knowledge of how to pronounce russ

i downloaded rhe book to hear russian names and words..this narrator obviously had no interest in learning correct pronunciations...egads

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gorky park

Great storyline, Russian names where a little difficult to keep straight but the insight into the Russian characters was illuminating

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gorky Park

One of the best books I have listened to in many months. The narrator is excellent. I did find I enjoyed the book much more after I obtained a print copy and could listen along with the narrator simply because I needed to see the pronunciations of the Russian names and places. The book has many characters and an intricate plot; however, Martin Cruz Smith's beautiful writing and description use of language makes the book mesmerizing. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Old School Narrator

This narrator rarely altered his voice when reading the lines of the different characters. It made it difficult to follow scenes with multiple characters. It took away from the enjoyment of the story.

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1 person found this helpful