Red Square by Martin Cruz Smith (1992, Hardcover)

Add to Cart

Red Square
by Martin Cruz Smith
Publisher:  Random House
Copyright 1992
FIRST EDITION

Investigator Arkady Renko is back in Moscow.  The remarkable hero of Gorky Park and Polar Star has been in exile, first on the run in Siberia, then in the Bering Sea on a Russian factory ship servicing American fishing trawlers.  The city he returns to, the city he last knew when he was head of the homicide department of the Moscow prosecutor's office, is totally different from the one he left.  Now the Communist Party is dead, the ruble is worthless, and organized crime is the only entity that functions efficiently in the city.  The Russian mafia isn't merely fattening off the economy; it is the economy, the only part of the country that works.

At a black market Arkady meets an underworld banker minutes before the man and his car erupt in flames.  As burning dollars and deutsche marks rain down around him, Arkady begins an investigation that leads him not only to the most powerful figures in Moscow today, its mafia chiefs, but also to the great love of his life, Irina Asanova.

The new lords of the city are Borya Gubenko, Sportsman of the Russian Republic turned black marketeer, and Makhmud, the aged leader of the Chechens, the Sicilians of the Russian mafias.  There is also the sleek Max Albov, who has defected to the West and then back to Moscow, a man who goes wherever the money is, as well as various Party commissars greedily plundering the last assets of the Soviet Union.  Caught between them is Arkady, that uncrushable Slav ironist, who can't help wondering whether being an honest man in a bankrupt system isn't a wasted life.

From the smoldering site of the fire Arkady rescues a shortwave radio, and on it he later hears Irina Asanova reading the news about the Soviet Union on Radio Liberty, an emigre station based in Germany.  Of course the news is no news to him, but Arkady listens to it like a man who has come back to life.  Irina was the cause of his imprisonment and exile, while for her he was the price of her freedom.  Now he listens to her as if she were lying in bed next to him.

As Moscow collapses around Arkady like a burning house, he escapes to Irina and to Germany -- a new Germany at once Teutonically efficient and frighteningly corrupt -- only to find the Russian mafia already on hand, enjoying the country's good beer, driving BMWs through the Brandenburg Gate, and searching murderously for Investigator Renko, that familiar fugitive, whose destiny is once more to find his lost love and to suffer again.

Condition:  Used.  Hardcover.  Dust cover.  Pages are tanned and darkening from age.  Previous owner's "Library Of" stamp is on the front endpaper.  Dust cover and flaps are tanned from age.  Dust cover shows a bit of edge wear and tear and creasing.

**************************

Don't Delay. Buy It Now!

Why Buy From Me?


* Shipping Speed Most people are extremely amazed at how fast I get their item delivered to them. I ship the same day you pay for your item, whenever possible.

  • Strong Positive Feedback 100% positive feedback. Customers are overwhelmingly pleased with the quality of the item they receive, the accuracy of the item's description, the prompt and informative email notifications, and of course the speedy delivery.

    * Blujay Member Since 2005 I'm here to stay.

    * ID Verified My feedback profile also displays the ID Verified icon. An extra level of safety and security for buyers to know.

    * PayPal Buyer Protection All of my listings display the PayPal Buyer Protection icon to qualify for up to $1000.00 of protection for you, the buyer.
    • ISBN 0679416889
Payment Methods
Shipping USPS, $4.99
Payment Policy

Payment Methods Money Order, PayPal

Shipping Policy

Ship to Locations: Books, CDs and Magazines are shipped within the United States. Collector Dolls are shipped to U.S. and Canada ONLY!!!

Doll purchases to Canada go via USPS Priority International. Please contact me for shipping cost to Canada.

Shipping Costs to any ZIP CODE inside the UNITED STATES are already quoted on the item. I do insure packages upon request for $2.80 fee.

UPS Ground Shipping and Additional Insurance for DOLLS inside the UNITED STATES are already included in the shipping cost for each doll listed.

I ship books as soon as I receive payment. Dolls are normally shipped on Tuesdays. Buyer pays actual shipping costs.

Please Login or Register first before asking a question.
More from oldbooks's Store