A review by liberrydude
Tatiana by Martin Cruz Smith

4.0

This should be called "The Unbearable Pervasiveness of Moroseness." The sense of overwhelming gloom and despair is thick. Tatiana is a crusading reporter who "falls" off her balcony in Moscow. Obvious suicide. Renko doesn't think so. He and Tatiana are kindred spirts who both seek out the impossible in corrupt Russia-the truth. Renko goes on a road trip to Kalingrad to see Tatiana's sister and is once again being attacked. Smith seems part Russian as he continues to capture the spirit of the place during the course of this 32 year series. It's like I'm reading a modern mystery written by Chekhov. Lots of twists and turns in this one and often times I'm asking myself why Renko isn't dead. He just walks away from encounters with the Russian Mafia.