I was glad to follow along once again with my sturdy investigator Arkady Renko, and to be able to return for a Russian history lesson. I thought this was a complex story that I had to read carefully, but Martin Cruz Smith ensured that all the parts were pulled together to make for an exciting read. I wouldn't rate Wolves as one of Mr. Smith's best novels, but it still was a fantastic read. Highly recommend to all Martin Cruz Smith fans.

Martin Cruz Smith never lets me down!!!! I would not call it one of his best, however very satisfied and enjoyed the read very very much!!! Have recommended this book to many MCS's fans, and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for one of the best, exciting reads!!

Last year, I read Smith's Havana Bay and found it lacking. As I approached Wolves Eat Dogs, I was sincerely hoping that it would be closer to Gorky Park than Havana Bay. Alas, it was not. Perhaps it is not fair to compare all of Smith's works with my 25-year memory of Gorky Park, which I thought was fantastic. Renko's sense of melancholy and the depressing portrayal of life in Chernobl was simply too much for me. The usual zip simply was not present. I have Stalin's Ghost on the bookshelf. Hopefully it will prove to be closer to Gorky Park that this was. If not, I will have to pass on Smith's future works.

This novel is a combination of Soviet history, travelogue, and murder mystery. I would argue that the weakest part of the story is the murder mystery- Renko spends much of his time in the Exclusion Zone, by his own admission, accomplishing nothing. And then the author employs the shopworn technique of the baddie explaining everything to Renko just before he is to kill him. The novel earns four stars for its indictment of the Soviets' monstrous indifference to the population in the wake of Chernobyl, as well as Smith's depiction of life in the Zone's radioactive villages.

This novel seems so rushed and half-hearted. It doesn't come close to the early Trilogy of Renko novels. Character relationships seem undefined and unbelievable; the use of a mute child for Renko to talk to as a source of exposition seems amateurish; Renko initiates another sexual encounter but this time there's no connection or passion; the plot and climax aren't nearly as powerful as they should be, it left me with one of those "THAT was it?" feelings. Renko's antagonists clearly state their intentions to slow him down over and over again and in ways that are far too obvious; where did the subtlety go in Cruz Smith's writing? Maybe Renko should have been left alone after Red Square.

Russian Senior Investigator Arkady Renko returns to action in Martin Cruz Smith's excellent "Wolves Eat Dogs", a murder mystery wrapped around the New Russia and the sins of the old Russia.

New Russian billionaire Pasha Ivanov commits suicide by leaping from the tenth floor window of his highly secure Moscow apartment. The case is an open-and-shut suicide for everyone but Renko, who patiently scratches at a few anomalies in the case and slowly uncovers a more complicated explanation for Ivanov's death. Renko persists in his investigation despite his boss's warnings. By way of punishment, he is exiled to the Ukraine to investigate the death under mysterious circumstances of Ivanov's business partner in the Zone of Exclusion, the radioactive restricted area around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Martin Cruz Smith creates a fascinating world in the Zone of Exclusion, as different from Moscow as the backside of the Moon, and nearly as desolate. The Zone is inhabited by a few militia, a few scientists, a few scavengers, and the last of the original inhabitants who have refused to relocate. Renko encounters a confusing array of friends, enemies, and seeming neutrals, and navigates a bewildering thicket of clues in search of the truth about the two murders. Along the way, he develops relationships with a female scientist and with an abandoned boy that may offer clues to the present mystery and the possibility of some redemption for the lonely but dutiful investigator.

Martin Cruz Smith fans will enjoy the challenging, multi-faceted plot of this novel, one that is not resolved until the final page. Arkady Renko fans will enjoy another opportunity to cheer on their uniquely Russian hero, a stubbornly honest and conscientious investigator in a corrupt and cynical Russia.

Russian Senior Investigator Arkady Renko returns to action in Martin Cruz Smith's excellent "Wolves Eat Dogs", a murder mystery wrapped around the New Russia and the sins of the old Russia.





New Russian billionaire Pasha Ivanov commits suicide by leaping from the tenth floor window of his highly secure Moscow apartment. The case is an open-and-shut suicide for everyone but Renko, who patiently scratches at a few anomalies in the case and slowly uncovers a more complicated explanation for Ivanov's death. Renko persists in his investigation despite his boss's warnings. By way of punishment, he is exiled to the Ukraine to investigate the death under mysterious circumstances of Ivanov's business partner in the Zone of Exclusion, the radioactive restricted area around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.





Martin Cruz Smith creates a fascinating world in the Zone of Exclusion, as different from Moscow as the backside of the Moon, and nearly as desolate. The Zone is inhabited by a few militia, a few scientists, a few scavengers, and the last of the original inhabitants who have refused to relocate. Renko encounters a confusing array of friends, enemies, and seeming neutrals, and navigates a bewildering thicket of clues in search of the truth about the two murders. Along the way, he develops relationships with a female scientist and with an abandoned boy that may offer clues to the present mystery and the possibility of some redemption for the lonely but dutiful investigator.





Martin Cruz Smith fans will enjoy the challenging, multi-faceted plot of this novel, one that is not resolved until the final page. Arkady Renko fans will enjoy another opportunity to cheer on their uniquely Russian hero, a stubbornly honest and conscientious investigator in a corrupt and cynical Russia.

Martin Cruz Smith is a former journalist and magazine editor. "Red Square" is his fifth novel - a series that began with "Gorky Park" - to feature Arkady Renko and was first published in 2004.

Renko, the hero, works as an Investigator with Moscow's militia - more or less the standard police force - and has something of a chequered career. Never a truly 'practising' member of the Party, Renko hasn't always been thought highly of by those in authority. He has always wanted to catch the people responsible for the crimes he's investigating, regardless of the 'political' consequences - as a result of this, he was once dismissed from the Party for a lack of 'political reliability' and sentenced to a life in Siberia. He has been rehabilitated for several years now, though he always remained something of a disappointment to his father - a very famous ex-General. His father has been dead for some time, something Arkady never seemed too bothereed about. However, he hasn't yet entirely gotten over the death of his wife, Irina.

Pasha Ivanov was one of the 'new' Russia's most successful businessmen - President of NoviRus and worth an absolute fortune. However, the businessman has - it would appear - jumped to his death through his apartment window. The book opens in the apartment, with Arkady peering through the window towards the corpse on the pavement. Among those also present are Prosecutor Zurin (Arkady's boss), Bobby Hoffman (Ivanov's American assistant) and Lev Timofeyev - an old friend of Ivanov's and a Senior Vice-President at NoviRus. The pair had studied together at the Institute, and were two particular favourites of the noted Academican Gerasimov. Zurin is happy to write it off as suicide, and there is little - other than, possibly, a large pile of salt in the closet - to make Renko think anyone else was involved. At Hoffman's insistence, Arkady keeps looking into it though - something that doesn't make him very popular with neither Zurin, nor Colonel Ozhogin - Head of Security at NoviRus. Naturally, when the pile of salt in Ivanov's closet turns out to be radioactive and Timofeyev turns up murdered in Chernobyl, it's Arkady sent to investigate.

I've really enjoyed the Renko books to date - though, after a brief trip to Cuba for "Havana Bay", I'm glad to see the action taking place a little closer to home. The introduction of Zhenya - an eleven year old boy who lives at one of Moscow's shelters - was an interesting one. Arkady occasionally spends a free day with the boy, who seems to have some difficulty relating to people. I'm hoping, though, their relationship will continue in later books.

Martin Cruz Smith is a former journalist and magazine editor. "Red Square" is his fifth novel - a series that began with "Gorky Park" - to feature Arkady Renko and was first published in 2004.











Renko, the hero, works as an Investigator with Moscow's militia - more or less the standard police force - and has something of a chequered career. Never a truly 'practising' member of the Party, Renko hasn't always been thought highly of by those in authority. He has always wanted to catch the people responsible for the crimes he's investigating, regardless of the 'political' consequences - as a result of this, he was once dismissed from the Party for a lack of 'political reliability' and sentenced to a life in Siberia. He has been rehabilitated for several years now, though he always remained something of a disappointment to his father - a very famous ex-General. His father has been dead for some time, something Arkady never seemed too bothereed about. However, he hasn't yet entirely gotten over the death of his wife, Irina.











Pasha Ivanov was one of the 'new' Russia's most successful businessmen - President of NoviRus and worth an absolute fortune. However, the businessman has - it would appear - jumped to his death through his apartment window. The book opens in the apartment, with Arkady peering through the window towards the corpse on the pavement. Among those also present are Prosecutor Zurin (Arkady's boss), Bobby Hoffman (Ivanov's American assistant) and Lev Timofeyev - an old friend of Ivanov's and a Senior Vice-President at NoviRus. The pair had studied together at the Institute, and were two particular favourites of the noted Academican Gerasimov. Zurin is happy to write it off as suicide, and there is little - other than, possibly, a large pile of salt in the closet - to make Renko think anyone else was involved. At Hoffman's insistence, Arkady keeps looking into it though - something that doesn't make him very popular with neither Zurin, nor Colonel Ozhogin - Head of Security at NoviRus. Naturally, when the pile of salt in Ivanov's closet turns out to be radioactive and Timofeyev turns up murdered in Chernobyl, it's Arkady sent to investigate.











I've really enjoyed the Renko books to date - though, after a brief trip to Cuba for "Havana Bay", I'm glad to see the action taking place a little closer to home. The introduction of Zhenya - an eleven year old boy who lives at one of Moscow's shelters - was an interesting one. Arkady occasionally spends a free day with the boy, who seems to have some difficulty relating to people. I'm hoping, though, their relationship will continue in later books.

The author has done a great job of creating and sustaining Arkady Renko, an alternately cynical and idealistic Russian investigator who gets caught, time and again, in the dark side of life. It's funny that a common element in the Renko books is that every character around him seems to dislike or distrust him, for he seems eminently likable to me.

It had been a while since I'd read the last Renko novel and I feared the latest installment would disappoint. Though Wolves Eat Dogs begins slowly and the characters were at times confusing (is there any good guy here?), eventually the tension grew until it became a real page turner. The bits with Zhenya, an orphan boy Renko unwillingly befriends, and the many little zinger comments about modern Russian life are particularly fun and thought provoking. A good modern crime novel, good continuation of the series, with interesting insights into the history of Chernobyl.

Martin Cruz Smith create, years ago, one of the best detectives in history.
Renko is a original caracther,wise and human and his diference is the russian "ethos". Smith caught the russian soul in Renko, so vivid, that we almost believe that he exist.
Renko is a good friend of mine, a very close one. I have miss his absence since his last adventure "Havana".

Martin, please, write another one Renko adventure as fast you can and tank you for the great times I have spent with Arkasha. I had all Renko Book in english and except this in portuguese. Try one people,you will enjoy.

I have read every one of his books, ever since he was edited by that doyen of the publishing world, Bob Loomis. This recent book is wonderful. His books always take you to a part of the world and yourself you weren't aware of. It's like a long tourist exploration, something always crops up to surprise you. The only thing that's familiar is Smith's ability to hold your interest.

I have really liked all of Smith's Renko novels, but this one was not as good as the others. Too bleak a landscape perhaps. Still worth reading, especially for those who liked Gorky Park, Polar Star, Havana Bay and Red Square. But, raad those first.

I'm being generous with my 3-star rating, only because I am fascinated by the phenomenon of post-Chernobyl society, such as it is, which he catalogs faithfully, I guess. So, read it as a travelogue, not a compelling novel. The plot was too obtuse, the characters unreal, and even Arkady has morphed into a caricature of himself. I've liked all of Cruz Smith's books, but this one is the author's Chernobyl, in more ways than just the obvious.

Not a thriller or action packed page turner, but a slowly developing who-done-it that keeps your interest throughout, while treating you to some really great writing and interesting characters along the way. The author hooked me with a mysterious death/murder in the first few pages, then he let the plot simmer on low boil throughout the remaining book, while introducing us to some great characters and excellent writing. It might be a bit slow going for some, but I really enjoyed it, especially after reading some of the latest plot driven bestsellers where the characters seem to be made of cardboard and the writing is just as flat.

Smith's Arkady Renko series has run out of gas with this book.
A non existent plot, devoted to the merits of our hero's trip
to Chernobyl, populated by a bizarre cast of wooden characters invites the question: "Honey, do I really need to finish this 335 page piece of excess, or, can I go to sleep now?"