Investigator Arkady Renko, the pariah of the Moscow prosecutor's office, has been assigned the thankless job of investigating a new phenomenon: late-night subway riders report seeing the ghost of Joseph Stalin on the platform of the Chistye Prudy Metro station. The illusion seems part political hocus-pocus and also part wishful thinking, for among many Russians Stalin is again popular; the bloody dictator can boast a two-to-one approval rating. Decidedly better than that of Renko, whose lover, Eva, has left him for Detective Nikolai Isakov, a charismatic veteran of the civil war in Chechnya, a hero of the far right and, Renko suspects, a killer for hire. The cases entwine, and Renko's quests become a personal inquiry fueled by jealousy.

The investigation leads to the fields of Tver outside of Moscow, where once a million soldiers fought. There, amidst the detritus, Renko must confront the ghost of his own father, a favorite general of Stalin's. In these barren fields, patriots and shady entrepreneurs -- the Red Diggers and Black Diggers -- collect the bones, weapons and personal effects of slain World War II soldiers, and find that even among the dead there are surprises.

Stalin has been spotted, or rather his ghost has been seen in the Chistye Prudy Metro Station. Has he come back to Moscow to haunt the underground? Hardly. But the powers that be want Arakdy Renko to investigate and when he arrives on the scene he does indeed find people who had seen old Joe in the flesh, well not the flesh exactly.

So why was Renko given the case? Was it because he was investigating a woman who may or may not have hired cops to kill her husband? Was it because he resents ex-black beret soldiers who are now cops, but don't have the chops for the job? Was it because he's not a team player or is it simply because he's the cop the bosses like the least? Maybe a combination of all of the above.

Renko suspects Nikolai Isakov and Marat Urman, two of these ex-Black Beret cops, are on the take or, at the very least, inept. He's also having problems in his personal life. He's not getting on with with his lover Eva and her son has gone missing. To make matters worse, Isakov is Eva's ex, so can Renko really be objective?

Renko, as usual, is like a dog with bone, he won't give it up and because of his dogged determination he gets shot in the head and transferred to Tver where his nemisis Isakov is running for office. Is the ultra-nationalist, ex-black beret Isakov a cold-blooded killer? Will Renko survive long enough, yes there are people who want him dead, to unravel the evil that is afoot and make everything right? Should he? Could he?

Arkady Renko has been with us since Gorky Park back in 1981, when hardcovers were about a third of what they are now, paperbacks about a quarter as much as we pay today. We've followed Renko from Moscow to Alaska to Cuba and he's grown with every story and each story is better than the last. This one is no exception, it builds on those that came before and I'm sure Mr. Smith's next book will stand on the shoulders of this one.

Martin Cruz Smith and Arakdy Renko have given us twenty-seven years of Russian history, delivered it as entertainment, made our pulses race as we absorbed life in that vast and wonderful land. We understand Russia better thanks to Mr. Smith, he sort of snuck that education in under the raider as we poured through his stories and he keeps us coming back for more. How many writers can do that?

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

M Smith has keep the character first intoduced in Gorky to a new height. He has captured the cold of Russia anew.

Martin Cruz Smith wrote a few detective novels taking place in Russia. His knowledge of Russia is intimate and he knows things about the country that are inaccessible to academic researchers.
Stalin's Ghost is a good story with detective Renko solving a very complicated plot, in real life perhaps with a bit optimistic end. It is a compulsive reading and I recommend it to all who also want to know a bit about contemporary as well as the Soviet Russia.

And so is Martin Cruz Smith! A common criticism of his previous novel "Wolves Eat Dogs" was that it was as much a travelogue of the Chernobyl area as it was a mystery novel. There was some truth in this. "Wolves Eat Dogs" was a bit slow, and, when it came down to it, Inspector Arkady Renko didn't do all that much. But "Stalin's Ghost" shows beyond doubt that Martin Cruz Sith still has the chops for writing a great mystery. Arkady is as broodingly compelling as he has ever been. The supporting characters are alternately, and sometimes simultaneously, endearing and infuriating. All of this makes for a heady mix with Smith's noire, snow covered Moscow streets. You might think you have the mystery solved pretty early, but hold on because "Stalin's Ghost" has several truly bold plot twists coming at you. "Gorky Park" remains the truly best novel in this series, but "Stalin's Ghost" is certainly the best novel Smith has written since "Red Square". Arkady is back!

Having read most of his earlier books (altho disappointed at the previous one set in Chernobyl), I picked this book up as soon as I saw it in the bookstore. That's something I won't do again with another of his books. He's always been a bit of a "slow" writer, but this book lacks cohesion in storyline and meanders along randomly (and annoyingly) at times. More focus please! My advice - don't bother.