Authors who create wonderful characters own a gold mine.1 Killing a ‘Golden Goose’ is very expensive. Lee Child outsourced the Reacher series to his brother. Ian Ranken’s Rebus recently was imprisoned for murder and then solved a murder and lives on. Reacher and Rebus live forever!
Martin Cruz Smith’s eleventh Arkady Renko bucks the trend. This is the last one
Smith gives him a wonderful send-off. Renko carefully conceals his Parkinson’s disease knowing that if it’s discovered he’d have to retire. The book is set in the present. The Ukraine war is corroding Russian society with the well-connected evading wartime service. Russian gangsterism is rampant and permeates the armed forces. The war is savage and Smith blames gangsters who are present at all levels of government.
The murder of a government official leads to a quasi-official gangster organisation, and a member of the elite FSB collaborating.2 They are plotting against Putin whilst being shock-troops for the army.
Arkady Renko triumphs and bows out FOR EVER!
Definitely worth reading.
Notes
1 The first Reacher novel came out in 1997; the first Rebus novel came out in 1987. Cruz’s Arkady Renko novels began in 1981 – 44 years ago!
2 FSB is the successor to the KGB
Odeboyz's Blog 