Tatiana

An Arkady Renko Novel, Book 8

By: Martin Cruz Smith

Narrated by: Henry Strozier

In Tatiana, Martin Cruz Smith, “the master of the international thriller” (The New York Times) creates the most compelling heroine of his career and the most realistic, damning portrait of modern Russia in contemporary literature.

One of the iconic investigators of contemporary fiction, Arkady Renko - cynical, analytical, and quietly subversive - has survived the cultural journey from the Soviet Union to the New Russia, only to find the nation as obsessed with secrecy and brutality as was the old Communist dictatorship. In Tatiana, Martin Cruz Smith’s most ambitious novel since Gorky Park, the melancholy hero finds himself on the trail of a mystery as complex and dangerous as modern Russia herself.

The fearless investigative reporter Tatiana Petrovna falls to her death from a sixth-floor window in Moscow the same week that a mob billionaire, Grisha Grigorenko, is shot and buried with the trappings due a lord. No one makes the connection, but Arkady is transfixed by the tapes he discovers of Tatiana’s voice, even as she describes horrific crimes hidden by official versions.

The trail leads to Kaliningrad, a Cold War "secret city" and home of the Baltic Fleet, separated by hundreds of miles from the rest of Russia. Arkady delves into Tatiana’s past and a surreal world of wandering dunes and amber mines. His only link is a notebook written in the personal code of a translator whose body is found in the dunes. Arkady’s only hope of decoding the symbols lies in Zhenya, a teenage chess hustler.

More than a mystery, Tatiana is a story rich in character, black humor, and romance, with an insight that is the hallmark of Martin Cruz Smith.

©2013 Martin Cruz Smith (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

Dead people won't stay dead....

In post-soviet Russia, nothing is what it seems...or is it? One thing that is clear and certain is that murder has taken no leave from the society....Arkady Renko finds himself trying to find a killer...or killers...and as usual the odds seem not in his favor. This novel is a fast-paced and satisfying mystery with an ending that fits the overall story...I liked Gorky Park better, but I was glad to visit Renko again....

LAURA Goes to Russia

Where does Tatiana rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've enjoyed all his novels. This one was predictable but it didn't make it any less enjoyable.

A page turner

I love the settings and the moods the story ducked me in deep and I never wanted to let go

pretty good

Where does Tatiana rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is not the best but also not the worst of the Arkady Renko novels, and those who complained about the speaker must be in a hurry, I liked the slow pace, it fits the character, I think.

What about Henry Strozier’s performance did you like?

Good pace, slower than normal but fits.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed several times

Gotta Love Arkady Renko

Any additional comments?

This isn't up there with Gorky Park, but it is a very well written suspense tale that keeps you listening for more. Very well performed. Some nice twists and turns. I bought the written version for my wife and she enjoyed it as well.

Slow starter

Found it hard to get into the story but when I did I finished it in less than 12 hours. It wasn't a five star book but enjoyable.

One of my favorites for Smith

This tale is excellent and the narration is perfect. Along with Wolves Eat Dogs and Gorky Park this is Smith at his finest.

Arkady's redemption

I hope that this isn't the last we'll see if inspector Renko. The narration was back to where it should have been on Three Stations and the story was tighy as always.

Solid novel. The narator is a perfect fit.

Big fan of this author, and he does not disappoint. Solid work. Not exceptional, but very enjoyable, and well worth the credit.

WORST NARRATION EVER

What did you like best about Tatiana? What did you like least?

Not Renko's best, still good story. NARRATOR awful. So bad I will have to go to printed edition just to get to the end. I listened to hundreds of audiobooks. This is the worst production ever. Does anybody listen before publishing an audiobook??

Would you be willing to try another book from Martin Cruz Smith? Why or why not?

Read / listened to almost all of his books. Love him, love Renko. Thank god I didn't listen to Tatiana as his first book...

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Don't know where to start.... No defining voices for key players. Impossible to distinguish who is who during dialogues. Sleepy tone all across the board. Wrong pronunciation of most of non-english names, words. A total production flop.Maybe the actor is getting old or had some issues, on previous Renko's books he was almost OK although never near good, but this is a new low.

Was Tatiana worth the listening time?

NO, due to narrator.