Independence Square

Arkady Renko #10

by Martin Cruz Smith

Detective Arkaday Renko risks his life when he heads to Ukraine shortly before the Russian invasion to find an anti-Putin activist who has mysteriously disappeared.

Martin Cruz Smith has written nine previous novels featuring Arkady Renko, one of modern detective fiction’s most popular characters. These novels, beginning with 1981’s international sensation Gorky Park, have collectively traced Russia's evolution over the last half-century. Now, with Independence Square, Smith focuses on the fraught and frenzied days leading up to Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.

It’s June 2021, and Arkady knows that Russia is preparing to invade and subsequently annex Ukraine as it did Crimea in 2014. He is, however, preoccupied with other grievances. His longtime lover, Tatiana Petrovna, has deserted him for her work as an investigative reporter. His corrupt boss has relegated him to a desk job. And he is having trouble with his dexterity and balance. A visit to his doctor reveals that these are symptoms for Parkinson’s Disease.

Parkinson’s hasn’t stopped Smith from his work, and neither does it stop Arkady. Rather than dwell on his diagnosis, he throws himself into another case.

An acquaintance has asked him to find his daughter, Karina, an anti-Putin activist who has disappeared. In the course of the investigation, Arkady falls for Karina's roommate, Elena, a Tatar from Ukraine. The search leads them to Kyiv, where rumblings of an armed conflict grow louder. Later, in Crimea, Tatiana reemerges to complicate Arkady’s new romance. And as he gets closer to locating Karina, Arkady discovers something that threatens his life as well as the lives of both Elena and Tatiana.

Few fiction writers have better captured contemporary Russia with more insight or authenticity than Martin Cruz Smith. He does the same here for Ukraine and the events that preceded Russia’s invasion. Independence Square is timely and a uniquely personal mystery novel-meets-political thriller by a master of the form.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Russia, Thriller, Crime, Detective, Ukraine

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 9, 2023

About the author

Martin Cruz Smith (AKA Simon Quinn, Nick Carter, Jake Logan, and Martin Quinn) was an American writer of mystery and suspense fiction, mostly in an international or historical setting. He was best known for his 11-book series featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko, who was introduced in 1981 with Gorky Park and appeared in Independence Square (2023) and Hotel Ukraine (2025). [Wikipedia]

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arkady Renko is going to Ukraine.

Smith has been writing stories about the Soviet Union (and now Russia) for over 40 years and I have been rationing myself.

Arkady Renko is the personification of the iconic Russian – smart, permanently doomed, and depressed. Martin Cruz Smith has given us Renko in many situations that illuminate “the Russian Situation.” This is the newest.

The good news is that this is a fine addition to the series.

"“My daughter Karina has disappeared down a rabbit hole, and the assholes I hired to find her haven’t gotten anywhere.” Arkady smiled. “You don’t want to go to the police?” “I’d rather stick pins in my eyes.” “I should remind you that I’m still technically a police detective.” “Present company excepted, of course.” “Of course.”"

As this story opens, Arkady has a Moscow desk job. This gives the author a chance to make observations about local culture:
"…a young man came over from a nearby bench. He slouched just the same way Zhenya did, barely picking up his feet as he walked. Arkady supposed he should be thankful that neither of them wore his pants halfway down his ass, a trend which as far as he could make out was still popular long after he thought it would have died out, or maybe it had faded and then come back into fashion again, like dictatorship and war."

And about the Russian “mindset.” Here is an excerpt from a conversation about how/why the USA faked its Moon landing:
"“No. Because they faked it. Stanley Kubrick filmed it on a soundstage in the desert.” “If you say so.” “It’s all online.” Alex looked triumphant. There was no disproving what people had convinced themselves was true. How else had the Soviet Union lasted so long?"

"No one was better than a Russian at having a superiority complex and an inferiority complex at the same time. Stalin had alternately lorded it over and glowered at Churchill and Roosevelt during the wartime conferences."

"At least the Soviets had been honest about their repression, which was to say they had been so dishonest as to have been totally transparent. Newspaper reporters who dared tell the truth were fired and some were killed. Arkady remembered the old joke about the two main newspapers, Pravda (Truth) and Izvestia (News): there was no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia."


Renko is an astute investigator who is never given an “easy” assignment.

"He would stay silent, listen, and see what he could piece together in the margins. No one would tell him anything of use, at least not deliberately, but they might let something slip without realizing. In the same way that music was often played between the notes, truth could be found between the lines. Sometimes that was the only place it resided."

This book puts forward some interesting observations relating to the Russia/Ukraine conflict. I am “all in.”

4.5*

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Author Martin Cruz Smith introduced Moscow police detective Arkady Renko in the novel 'Gorky Park' in 1981. There are nine more books in the series, and Renko has aged a bit over time. In 'Independence Square', Martin Cruz Smith, who has Parkinson's Disease, takes a leaf from his own life, and Renko is diagnosed with the same ailment. Thus the popular fictional investigator is a little slower and shakier, but still on the ball. I hope Renko keeps on truckin'.

In this 10th book in the 'Arkady Renko' series, set in the summer of 2021, the Russian police detective searches for the missing daughter of a gangster.

*****

Arkady Renko, who tends to have a mind of his own.....



.....has always been on the blacklist of his corrupt boss, Prosecutor Zurin.



Over the years, Zurin has sent Arkady to regions far from Moscow, such as Kaliningrad on the Polish border; Lake Baikal, halfway to the Far East; and the Siberian tundra. Now Zurin has relegated Arkady to a desk job, and the detective is chafing from the boredom.

In Renko's private life, his doctor tells him he has Parkinson's disease;



his long-time girlfriend Tatiana Petrovna - who says Arkady lacks ambition - has left him for her work as an investigative reporter;



and Arkady and his adopted son, a young chess whiz named Zhenya, tussle over Zhenya's future.



At the chess tables in Gorky Park, Zhenya introduces Arkady to his friend Alex Levin - a computer hacker and member of an anti-government group called 'Forum for Democracy' (Forum).



Meanwhile, a gangster nicknamed Bronson, who runs protection rackets all over Moscow, comes to Arkady for help. Bronson confides that his daughter Karina has gone missing, and the 'assholes' he hired to find her haven't gotten anywhere.



Bronson tells Arkady that Karina is a professional violinist and that she belongs to an anti-government group called Forum.



Karina's roommate Elena also belongs to 'Forum', and Elena and Arkady attend an anti-government rally to see what they can find out about the missing woman.





The Forum demonstration is disrupted by a right-wing, government-sponsored motorcycle gang called the Werewolves, who ride around, make noise, and threaten people.



Computer hacker Alex is at the Forum rally as well, and he offers his techie skills to help look for Karina. However, Alex is murdered soon afterward, and Prosecutor Zurin assigns Renko to investigate the homicide, to show that the government is (supposedly) doing something to find the killer.

Renko thinks Alex's death may be linked to Karina's disappearance, and Arkady and Elena - who are having a romance by now - set off to find the truth. The search for Karina takes the duo to the Ukraine - which Russia is on the brink of invading; and then to Crimea - where Karina was born. Along the way, Renko and Elena come across Arkady's former girlfriend Tatiana, who's reporting on the politics of the region.

Renko's search for Karina leads to discoveries that endanger the lives of both Arkady and Elena, and the last part of the book is a straight-up thriller.



As the story unfolds, we learn a little about the history and politics of the region, including Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014; Putin's plans to invade Ukraine; and the plight of the Tatars (a Turkic speaking ethnic group), who fear they'll be expelled from Ukraine if Russia occupies the country.


Tatar Festival

There are also portrayals of the cities visited by Renko and Elena, and descriptions of monuments and statues erected by the Soviets, who like to commemorate their past.


Mother Motherland statue in Kyiv, Ukraine

I would have liked to see more mystery in the book, which seems more like a thriller than a suspense story. However, Martin Cruz Smith's depictions of Russia seem very authentic, and I was intrigued by Arkady Renko's latest adventure.

Thanks to Netgalley, Martin Cruz Smith, and Simon & Schuster for a copy of the manuscript.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can now say that I have read a Martin Cruz Smith book. He is one of those authors that my dad and granddad used to read and I never got around to. Thanks to the lovely team at Simon and Schuster Australia for sending me this book to read.

This was a very fast paced and dark read. Very political and full of intrigue, this is the 10th book to feature our main protagonist Arkady Renko, but can easily be read as a stand alone. Everyone has heard of his first book, Gorky Park and the subsequent film. Renko is getting on in years now and has been relegated to a desk job with the Moscow Office of Prosecution. He is bored, but he has also just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He is asked by a friend to help find a missing girl, which is just the start of the story. There is plenty of bodies, lots of secrets and hiding happening in this book and I flew though it.

Definitely a character that I am keen to read more about. Independence Square is published on June 7th and well worth a read.

[John Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tenth book into the Arkady Renko series, it felt tired. Current in that most of the book takes place in Moscow, Kviv and Sebastapol in Crimea, just prior to the Russian invasion. I felt no omph or real interest in what was going on as so much had to do with the political situation, until over 3/4 of the way, where things happen and the book became somewhat interesting. The love interest did not work at all for me.

Not as cutting or involving as any of the previous books in this series, it was just ok for me. 3 Stars.

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arkady Renko’s corrupt boss Zurin, a man whose main concern is not upsetting the Kremlin, has confined Arkady to a desk job at Petrovka 38 to keep him out of the way. After the annexation of Crimea and imminent invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s regime has become increasingly repressive and many Russians are secretly clamouring for a change to more democratic ways. The latest politician who seems to promise hope is Leonid Lebedev, head of The Forum.
Bronson, a career criminal with whom Arkady has a grudging rapport, asks Arkady to find his missing daughter Karina who is a member of The Forum. Soon after Arkady’s investigation begins, Alex, another member of The Forum and a close friend of Arkady’s son Zhenya, is murdered.
In the course of the investigation, Arkady travels to Ukraine and Crimea and finds himself caught up in some terrifying events, including an encounter with some specially trained naval dolphins. As well as still having to come to terms with the split from his girlfriend Tatiana, he is diagnosed with Parkinson’s and the physical and psychological effects of the disease are taking their toll.
Yet another highly relevant and insightful offering from a master of the political thriller.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

10th and latest Arkady.

I've followed Arkady's trajectory through the years and the books. To me he's always been himself, not a character made up by Cruz Smith but just Arkady. He has always had this ability to make a life of his own somewhere in the ether that exists between Cruz Smith and me.

This time round Arkady had to track a killer who proved to be an illusive surprise. He now also has to battle personal demons which I think will prove difficult for him and also for me. For the background Cruz Smith did not go far from reality.

An ARC kindly provided by publisher and author via Edelweiss.

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always kind of felt that the Arkady Renko series should have stopped with Red Square, which sees Arkady and Irina reunited. The books that follow in the series have a gradual decline in Arkady doing any actual investigating, and in his personality development. Well, maybe Havana Bay, and Wolves Eat Dogs were ok. But there's been this slow, sad change through the books in which we get much less investigating, and less cultural information and thoughtful analysis, and less of everything that makes Arkady Arkady. Independence Square has only a little investigating, a forced new relationship that has zero chemistry, and an Arkasha who lacks the verve of earlier books. I know that Martin Cruz Smith is writing some of his own life into Arkady here, with Parkinson's, but what we get is a cardboard cutout of Arkady--and Zhenya, who also deserves more--and not much more.

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crimea is Ukraine
Review of the Simon & Schuster hardcover, released simultaneously with the eBook/Audiobook editions (May 9, 2023).

Despite the book's title and its use in the cover art of the Kyiv Independence Square monument* (in shadow background on the cover of the American edition, but more explicit on the cover of the UK edition Independence Square: Arkady Renko in Ukraine), very little of the book takes place in Ukraine proper. The novel starts and ends in Moscow, travels briefly to Kviv, Ukraine but then to Russian occupied Sevastopol, Crimea. So the title and the cover imagery (including the yellow-blue colorization of the US cover) is likely more a sign of symbolic support for Ukraine in the current Russia/Ukraine War. The time setting of the book is in 2021, some months before the February 24, 2022 Russian assault and further attempted annexation of Ukraine.

The beleaguered Russian police inspector Arkady Renko (who is aging slower in book time than in real time, as he was already somewhat senior in his 1981 Gorky Park debut) starts this 10th book of the series at a desk job in Moscow, again under the thumb of his nemesis Prosecutor Zurin. His journalist girlfriend Tatiana has left Moscow to become a New York Times correspondent in St. Petersburg. He is also showing the first signs of Parkinson's Disease (a condition which the author admits he has been living with for over 20 years in his Acknowledgements).

Renko takes on an unpaid investigation in his spare time to search for the daughter of a somewhat shady character who asks for his assistance. The daughter was part of the retinue of a Putin-opposition leader. Renko makes the acquaintance of a violinist who played in a string quartet with the missing woman. During rallies, the opposition members are harassed by a biker gang of 2014 Crimean War veterans. Then they begin to be assassinated and Renko is officially put on the case.

The official investigation takes him to Ukraine and then Crimea where he uncovers who is behind the assassinations. The ending requires him to escape Crimea before the assassin and their allies can find him.


The figurehead at the top of the Ukrainian Independence Square monument. Image sourced from Wikipedia credited to photographer Amit just amit - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link.

The conclusion of the book flirted with an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™, as it stops rather abruptly and leaves the reader wondering about the fates of several of the characters.

Footnote
* Despite its similarity to the 'winged victory' statues of the Greek goddess Nike, the statue on top of the Ukrainian monument is of a Slavic goddess named Berehynia.

Trivia and Link
Despite its avowed 272 page length, the book is only about 200 pages of text due to an average of 2 blank pages worth between each of the 34 chapters. I noted from Audible that the unabridged audiobook edition only requires 5.75 hours of narration time. This type of publisher 'padding' was even more noticeable in the previous book of the series The Siberian Dilemma (2019) where approx. 80 pages worth were blank.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read all the Arkady Renko books, but what I have read, I have enjoyed. Although in this tenth instalment, Renko is slowing down in comparison to his Gorky Park days, this instalment in the series still has all the trademarks of Smith’s compelling storytelling. I wondered if it would be too brief, and at times I felt Smith had condensed his narrative a little too much, but at others I felt he moved his narrative forward effectively. This was my first experience reading a Renko novel that really deals in present Russian politics, and I found this element particularly interesting. A solid read.

[Alex Cantone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arkady had expected hostility (from the werewolves), or at very least a low—level hum of threat and entitlement, but in fact the atmosphere was jovial and relaxed. Men chatted, admired each other’s bikes, and swigged beer from cans. Beer didn’t really count as alcohol in a country where men drank vodka and real men drank brake fluid…

Tenth in the Arkady Renko series finds the Moscow investigator, working for Kremlin toady Prosecutor Zurin, approached by underworld figure “Bronson” (Fyodor Abakov), to find his missing daughter Karina, a young woman active in “Forum”, a political movement against Putin, led by charismatic Leonid Lebedev. It is summer 2021 – eight months before the invasion of Ukraine: the ageless Arkady has been diagnosed with Parkinson's (like the author), his adopted son chess-wizard Zhenya is cynical as many young people are of the government, friends with hacker, Alex. Long-time girlfriend, investigative journalist Tatiana is in St Petersburg as correspondent with the New York Times.

(There are flashbacks here to earlier books with Tatiana, and to other ill-fated opponents to Putin’s regime – but it could work as a standalone.) Two quick-fire assassinations points the blame at hard-line biker group, the werewolves, who see themselves as protectors of Russian values against the decadent west and homosexuality. Arkady becomes involved with Karina’s flatmate, Elena, a Tatar, and the scene shifts first to Kyiv.

For a while the story becomes enmeshed in the history of the Tatars, from their expulsion from the Crimea by Stalin, to their return under Khrushchev, only to be exiled again under Putin with many fleeing to Kyiv when Russia annexed the Crimea in 2014.

Finally, the story moves to Sebastopol (I enjoyed the descriptions of the journey) – and the welcome return of Tatiana – sheltering Arkady and Elena against government forces, as they set out on a nail-biting escape to safety.

This is the 7th book in the series I have read (they are all good) but seem to have become darker and edgier as the series has progressed. I detect some literary licence in both Arkady and his off-sider Viktor (how can anyone consume so much vodka and still live, let alone remain upright? Who was the Soviet Chairman back in Gorky Park?). Loved the cynical humour – and those dolphins.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare treat when a new Arkady Renko story arrives. Book 10 in the series, and a slight but thrilling and topical story set between Moscow and Ukraine. The decision to give the main character Parkinsons Disease is a bold and interesting move, mirroring Smith's own life living with the disease for the last 30 years. There may not be many more Renko novels to come, so each one we get should be treasured.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Martin Cruz Smith's 10th novel featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko it is summer 2021 & Renko is loking for a missing woman.
This is another great novel from Martin Cruz Smith & it takes Renko from Russia to Ukraine & finally Crimea. The characters are beautifully drawn & the plot is deftly handled. It's a pity that the author doesn't write Renko novels more often. With a gap of usually 3-6 years between each one it feels like a long, long wait.
I've tried a few other fictional crime books set in Russia over the years, but nothing I really enjoyed. If anyone can recommend some decent books in this genre, set in the past or present, I would be extremely greateful!

[Ray Palen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you had asked me while I was reading the novel GORKY PARK by Martin Cruz Smith in 1981 if I would still be reading stories featuring his hero, Russian Officer Arkady Renko, in 2023 I would have doubted it. Thankfully, I would have been very wrong. I had first discovered Martin Cruz Smith in 1977 with his horror novel, NIGHT WING, that was later made into a very forgettable film.

INDPENDENCE SQUARE marks the 10th novel in the Arkady Renko series and first since 2019. I confess that I still draw a mental image of the late actor William Hurt whenever I envision Arkady Renko. Hurt was an unlikely choice for the Russian officer but did a stellar job in the role with the film version that wasn’t half bad. Things are a lot different for Renko in June of 2021, when this latest novel is set, then they were back when GORKY PARK was written.

To begin with, Renko is relegated to a desk job at the start of the novel. He laments this fact to his long-time friend and colleague, Victor. Renko works as an investigator with the Office of Prosecution and has been given this desk role at the behest of Prosecutor Zurin. Zurin had been responsible for sending Renko and numerous adventures and difficult cases over the years and Renko is hopeful that he will have that opportunity again.

This is a different Arkady Renko then readers have seen in the past. He is a bit distant and listless for a number of reasons. Foremost is the fact that his long-time relationship with Tatiana Petrovna has ended when she chose her career as a journalist over their partnership. Additionally, we will learn that Renko has been keeping a diagnosis of what appears to be early onset Parkinson’s a secret, even though his balance and mobility issues are soon to be noticed by anyone paying attention.

It is then that he is approached by a former friend named Fyodor Abakov, called ‘Bronson’ by everyone due to his likeness to late actor Charles Bronson. Bronson needs Renko’s assistance in finding his daughter Karina who has gone missing. She is a violinist that may have gotten mixed up with some bad people. Those whom Bronson had hired to locate her have come up empty and Renko is his last ditch effort at finding her --- with the understanding that he do this on his own and keep the police out of it.

Renko, of course, accepts as he is eager to do something of value again. He learns that Karina was an anti-Putin activist which put her on the wrong side of many people in the area. Renko travels to Ukraine where Karina was last living and meets her roommate, Elena. With all the recent developments in Renko’s personal life, he easily falls for the attractive and stimulating Elena, even though he realizes it may cloud his judgement on his assignment. Martin Cruz Smith cleverly set the action of INDEPENDENCE SQUARE just prior to Putin’s war against Ukraine, which makes the ice Renko is skating on while on his mission especially thin and precarious.

The case leads Renko to Kyiv, that much closer to the conflagration that is about to start. As things take him into Crimea, he meets up with his former lover Tatiana. Not only does this complicate the burgeoning relationship with Elena, but it has now put Tatiana as well as Elena in the crosshairs of some very dangerous people who were not only behind the Karina disappearance but ready to act against Renko as well.

INDEPENDENCE SQUARE just drips with intrigue, suspense, and political furor during a very heated moment in Russian history that could potentially lead to a much larger war on a global scale. What makes Renko’s battle with Parkinson’s particularly relevant is that it mirrors the same health battle Martin Cruz Smith is currently going through. The author is able to use his beloved long-time protagonist as a symbolic way of dealing with this disease while also being able to share the pain that come from it with his fictional creation. Knowing this makes reading this novel that much more poignant.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter

[Come Musica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nei ringraziamenti scrive

“È stato il mio amico Ken Sack il primo medico a dirmi che avevo il Parkinson e a spiegarmi da cosa l’aveva capito. Nei vent’anni successivi, e man mano che la malattia progrediva, ho ampliato le mie conoscenze grazie alla mia attenta ed esperta dottoressa Jill Ostrem.”

INDEPENDENCE SQUARE
Martin Cruz Smith

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0⭐ I think this latest short novel marks a return to form for Smith after the previous rambling and mystical installments of his Arkady Renko books, like Siberian Dilemma and Wolves Eat Dogs. He's written a taut, spare mystery about the conflict in Ukraine and the end of Russia's fledgling civil society. Remarkably, according to the Acknowledgements, most of it was written long before the invasion and current war, underscoring Smith's understanding of his subject. Initially the mystery involves Moscow detective Renko and the disappearance and murders of persons involved with the political opposition to Putin's regime. Later, as they say, the plot thickens. I like all the Renko books but to me this one is closer to the earlier novels that made Smith's reputation, Gorky Park, Polar Star and Red Square. -30-

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

As brilliant as the rest of the series.

[MisterLiberry Head · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sturdy, dogged, totally apolitical investigator Arkady Renko has a history of being sent on cases to the ragged edges of Russia by his Machiavellian boss. It’s inevitable (and timely) that Renko is in Ukraine in his 10th book, INDEPENDENCE SQUARE. Renko answers the question, What did Putin want? – “To eliminate all rivals who threatened his own power base, who tried to steal from him, or both. And eliminate any sense that Russian territory could be inhabited by anybody but Russians” (loc.1998) And his tactic is: “Distort, deceive, divide, defeat.” (loc.2004) There is a perfunctory quality to INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, a sense that Martin Cruz Smith is going through the motions, although the author introduces a personal health challenge for Renko into the mix.

[Gina Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing read. Arkady was hired to find Karina - she was part of The Forum - which is part of the resistance. She suddenly disappeared. Her friend,Elena, is super worried and she accompanies Arkady on the search. Which leads them to Ukraine and then to Crimea. He has recently found out that he has Parkinson’s - and he mildly weaves it into the story. (Apparently, the author wa diagnosed with this.). Storyline is good - it seems to wrap up kind of quickly tho. I never guessed that Karina was working for the Russian govt the whole time. Their escape from crimea to Ukraine was suspenseful. I’d probably give it closer to 3.5 stars and I’d read another Arkady book.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Smith’s tenth novel featuring Moscow police detective Arkady Renko, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first one, Gorky Park. There’s less flash and dazzle here…Arkady is aging and is coming to terms with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. But the plot takes him to 2020-era Moscow and Kiev, and the atmosphere and treatment of contemporary Russia, including Putin and his circle, make this a fascinating read.

[LindaPf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Cruz Smith introduced us to Arkady Renko in 1981 in “Gorky Park.” This is the 10th book in the series — Arkady hasn’t really aged 40 years (he’s 54 now in the series), but the politics have changed, billionaires are the primary criminals, law enforcement in Russia is still corrupt, and yet Renko just wants to be a good cop. In “Independence Square”, the main character has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (an autobiographical detail from the author who has had the same affliction since 1995), but it’s just another personal challenge, not an overwhelming obstacle.

Renko is always a stalwart seeker of justice even though he receives scorn from superiors. In this novel, he’s trying to find a missing woman, Karina, and is becoming entranced by her friend, Elena, whose politics are anti-establishment. Essentially, the Renko novels are police procedurals, not political thrillers — although here the legal system is a bottomless pit of bureaucracy. Smith’s great strength has been creating the frustrating Russian atmosphere around Renko. In this fictional universe, Crimea is the primary occupied territory and Renko’s investigations draw him into the tensions of the upcoming Ukrainian conflict. Will Renko, usually apolitical, get caught up this time in the inevitable tensions wrought by the Putin regime?

You can easily read any of the Gorky Park series as standalone books and still be satisfied with a terrific story. Smith has an excellent addition to his time-tested series. 4 stars!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Tatiana, Arkady’s sort of ex, has gray-green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Pukh, poplar tree fluff, is almost a full-fledged character in this book.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detective Arkady Renko is such an admirable character in these stories about Russia. I've gotten to really like Victor his partner with that dry humor of his. The way the author weaves his personal battle with Parkinson's Disease into Arkady's life and his job makes you aware of the toll it is beginning to take on him. This time Arkady and Victor are trying to locate the missing activist daughter of a friend, a very hard thing to do when everything within Russia is so corrupt. What starts out as a search for Karina soon turns into solving several murders also. Thank you to Goodreads for the free copy of the book to read and review.

[Doug Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how many of this series I've read -- maybe a half dozen now -- but this is the weakest of the bunch. It's short and, after a decent start, rather fizzles out quietly at the end. Really not up to par for this author.

[Lemar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the latest book in the fantastic series of Arkady Renko novels. This one is set in Ukraine and deals very thoughtfully with the plight, that is not raised often enough, of the Crimean Tatars. The plot is excellent, the characters well drawn. It didn’t have maybe the crackle of the earlier books. There is a scene in which Renko asks his son not to go easy on him in their games of chess just because he’s getting older. So i’m being honest, but still I feel a little bad criticizing a book that I like just because the previous ones were better, but there it is. Still an excellent read!
Cruz Smith has always been fearless in his writing. He draws a searing portrait of Putin as a megalomaniac ruthless dictator. And he reveals the methods by which the Putin regime murders dissenters and then blames these murders on the minority populations.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to believe on some level that the guy who wrote Gorky Park is still writing espionage novels this far after the break up of the Soviet Union, but then we had the invasion and occupation of Crimea in 2014, and it seems like it is on again with the Putin power grabbing. This is set on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine, with Arkady being hampered by his Parkinson's disease (which apparently reflects what the author himself is going through) in an attempt to get somebody smuggled out after a hit is put out on her.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have long loved Smith's series featuring Detective Arkady Renko. This is the tenth in the series and I haven't found a clunker in the bunch. This one is a bit different from the others in that it has an autobiographical factor. We learn that Detective Renko is being diagnosed as having Parkinson's Disease, which in fact the author of the series has. It makes the story particularly personal. Also, there is a current affairs aspect as the story unrolls against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Arkady is determined not to dwell on his illness and he throws himself into work, searching for an anti-Putin activist who has disappeared. The activist, Karina, is the daughter of an acquaintance of his and he meets and falls for Karina's roommate, Elena, a Tatar from Ukraine. Complications abound!

[Andrew Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining but with little of the complexity or depth of his other Renko books. Feels like he needed a paycheck. More of a novella than a novel.

[Rajesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not up to what one would expect in an Arkady Renko book. Most of the book he's just travelling, wandering, stumbling without doing much active detecting. Only one piece of detecting solves the case for him. And the end is not satisfactory at all. Going to read Gorky Park again.

[William de_Rham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Cruz Smith’s “Independence Square” is a solid entertainment.

The tenth in Mr. Smith’s Arkady Renko series, it follows the Moscow detective as he searches for a missing anti-Putin activist in the Crimea and Ukraine in the days prior to Russia’s recent invasion of that country.

Renko is some 40 years older than when he made his debut in “Gorky Park.” The years have not been kind. Despite his brilliance as an investigator, he's been relegated to desk work. Tatiana, his long-time lover, has left him. And he learns that he has Parkinson’s Disease, the debilitating effects of which arise whenever Renko is subjected to great stress. Perhaps it is time for Arkady to retire and take his pension. Certainly there are those in power who would like to see that happen.

But then an old acquaintance asks for his help finding his daughter, Karina, a violinist belonging to a group that wants to see Putin deposed. Subsequent murders of other anti-Putin activists lead Renko and his new love interest, Elena (Karina’s roommate and fellow activist) from Moscow to Kyiv to the Crimea to find not only Karina, but the killer(s). What they discover is immensely surprising. That they now find themselves being hunted is equally alarming.

Mr. Smith has given us a very entertaining, somewhat enlightening novel of mystery and adventure. It begins slowly, even moodily, but progresses with ever increasing tension and suspense as the pages fly by. Along the way, readers will learn something about modern Russian history and how Mr. Putin, his government, and particularly its security service, the FSB, operate (at least, in Mr. Smith’s opinion).

In sum, I enjoyed “Independence Square” very much and think that fans of Arkady Renko, as well as newcomers to the series and those interested in present-day Russia will too.

My thanks to Net Galley, Martin Cruz Smith, and Simon and Shuster for providing me with an electronic ARC. The foregoing is my honest, independent opinion.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short new very contemporary Arkady Renko story. All of the Renko stories depict the state of law enforcement in the Soviet Union / Russia at the time of writing, but has been more immediate than this on, set at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Arkady is toiling in a backwater desk job when he is asked by an old (criminal) acquaintance to look for his missing daughter. The search takes him to Ukraine and occupied Crimea, rubbing shoulder with the FSB and many other unsavory characters. Naturally, Murders ensue. Arkady is joined on his search by the missing woman's flatmate, who becomes his new love interest. In the meantime, Tatiana, his old flame is still working for the NYT, and turns up in Kyiv and Sevastopol to report the goings-on. Can they work together for mutual progress? Can the murders be solved? (well, of course they can, but will the true results ever be known, or will they be repackaged as an excuse to clamp down on Crimeans?
As the book's blurb mentions, Arkady is now suffering from Parkinson's, and it gives the author a chance to describe his own personal journey, in a nod to hold old Arkady must be getting. Really, how old can you be in the Moscow Prosecutor's Office? It's still a good, if quick read.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, but since I have been reading his adventures since the cheapest paperback of GORKY PARK came out (circa 1982), let's go to four ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

This time my old friend legendary detective Arkady Renko goes to Kyiv and Crimea to solve crimes linked to P*t*n and his *ssh*l* flunkies. The story is middling, but, as always, the knowledge of Russia and Ukraine is interesting and timely.

Cruz Smith should be better known and celebrated for having (as far as I know) invented the subgenre of the honest detective in a corrupt system.

Fun fact: in book one of the series, Arkady was older than I was, and now he is younger. Fiction man, it's like nothing else.

PS: I had not read a book in 24 hours in too long. It was great.