Gorky Park

The Arkady Renko Novels, Book 1

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 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)

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!!!!

dated

It is a dated story now. with descriptions of tge ussr from someone who had never been there which I found interesting. I expected more

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

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!

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.

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.

A very well written romance of the complication of the end of Russian communism

Fascinating romantic view between the end communism and the force of the known criminal element with in the intelligence services of Russian government. One self obsessed policeman (militia) works his way threw a case that reeks of KGB involvement from the beginning but it becomes difficult for the frustrated detective to get his superiors to push his case forward. An American furrier becomes involved and Arkady again cannot get cannot the support he requires. Frustrated he pushes forward threw romance, intrigue and madness.

Dull

I never truly got interested, the narration certainly didn’t help. Researching the correct pronunciation for the main character’s first name would have been nice too.

Never gets old

I’d read this book a couple times in the past, but it’s been probably 25 or more years since the last time. This is a first rate thriller. The story pulls you in immediately and carries you through right to the end. The descriptiveness of settings puts you right in the center of it all. The dialog is crisp, never trite or contrived. And, while it takes place when the Cold War was still a harsh reality, this novel never feels dated. It’s as fresh now as it was 40 years ago.