Gorky Park

By: Martin Cruz Smith

Narrated by: Henry Strozier

Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins

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 Renkofrom of 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.... 

©2013 Martin Cruz Smith (P)2019 Simon & Schuster UK

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)

A brilliant story spoiled - what a disappointment

I have waited for a long time for this novel to be available as an audiobook so was really looking forward to listening to it. However I managed to make it only half way through due to the truly awful narration by a chap who made no effort to differentiate between the voices of the many characters and whose own voice was so monotonous that I literally lost the plot ... plus, even worse, were the swallowing noises, yuk. Luckily, I was able to find the film of the book so at least I know (more or less) how the story developed and ended - I now hope to exchange this book for something with higher production values ...

Good story. subpar narration.

Excellent story but the narrator not even attempting different voices for some characters makes it a little tough to follow the dialogue in some places.

Ruined by narration - read the book

I couldn't provide an accurate rating for this classic story because of the narration. The lack of distinction between voices or clear handling of important aspects of the story means I frequently zoned out, and had absolutely no idea what was going on. And yes, the swallowing noises mentioned by many are intensely irritating. I'm so disappointed this is the first encounter I've had with the story because the dreadful narration has ruined it completely. I'm going to have to read the book once enough time has passed because I can feel there is a story worthy of its classic status trying to get out from behind the narration.

Fabulous, literary and brimming with relentless twists and turns.

Gorky Park, published in 1981, is illuminative about Russian life at the time, politically sophisticated and wonderfully crafted. Full of tragic moments, philosophical thoughts and hope.

Masterpiece

I literally held my breath at the end. Martin Cruz Smith is a true genius.

Fantastic

A downtrodden antihero detective, way before Scandi-Noir had them appearing everywhere. Gripping from beginning to end.

Great book, really enjoyed it.

One of the best whodunnit's I've listened to on Audible, so far. Excellent narration as well.

Get the name right

He kept using the wrong name for Arkady.
Sloppy.
But the narrator has the best voice

still the best

the yardstick by which all Soviet crime novels are measured and still the best. thoroughly recommend. narrator would not have been my first choice, but his voice was quite good and in keeping with the atmosphere. cruz smith has captured the era brilliantly here, though I found all his subsequent books featuring the same detective disappointing.

Good story let down by performer

Big fan of the movie, and read the book about 15 years ago.

If you have seen the movie, the first 1/3 of the book is pretty faithful, before the rest of the book goes in a totally different direction.

The only thing that lets it down is Henry Strozier… he puts no real effort in (apart from giving Osbourne a Lee Marvin voice, he makes little effort for most the book, and this gets very confusing in places where 2 or 3 people are having a conversation.

Also the audiobook has been very poorly edited…. Times you can hear Henry reaching for a glass or water, or pages being turned, and in the last 1/4 there suddenly appears some sharp and jarring edits where they have joined together two separate takes.

All in all, good story let down by the performance