Fountaindale Public Library

Independence Square, Arkady Renko in Ukraine, Martin Cruz Smith

eng

maps

no index present

fiction

Independence Square

1377504853

Martin Cruz Smith

Arkady Renko novel, 10

Arkady Renko in 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 of Parkinson's disease. This is an ingenious autobiographical conceit as Smith also has Parkinson's , and through Arkady he is able to movingly describe his own experience with the disease. Parkinson's hasn't stopped Smith's work, and neither does it stop Arkady's. Rather than dwell on his diagnosis, Arkady throws himself into another case. An acquaintance has asked Arkady to find his daughter, Karna, an anti-Putin activist who has disappeared. In the course of the investgation, 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.

adult