Arkady Renko returns in this tense political thriller from one of the undisputed masters of
the genre. When Arkady Renko is charged with investigating the murder of Alexei Kazasky
the Deputy Minister of Defence he knows he has to tread carefully. Alexei Kazasky is a
high-profile politician and has a complicated relationship with Putin. This investigation
clearly has Kremlin approval but as with everything in Russia things are not always what
they seem. Already preoccupied with his developing Parkinson’s Arkady finds he has more to
worry about. The war in Ukraine is gaining momentum and his adopted son Zhenya has become
involved with the Black Army a Russo-Ukrainian group of hacktivists. Moreover as Arkady digs
deeper into Kazasky’s murder he realizes that the man’s death may have been more politically
motivated than he first assumed. Now it seems that the people behind the killing have him
firmly in their crosshairs – but this time Arkady’s life is not the only one on the line.
PRAISE FOR MARTIN CRUZ SMITH: ' Does more on a page than most writers manage in a
chapter. He is unique and irreplaceable' Mick Herron ' Among the first of a new
generation of writers who made thrillers literary' Guardian ' One of those writers
that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' Val
McDermid ' The undisputed master of the political crime thriller' Abir Mukherjee
' One of the finest writers of our age' Charlotte Philby
