--- product_id: 8511636 title: "Red Square: A Novel (Arkady Renko)" price: "HK$193" currency: HKD in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.hk/products/8511636-red-square-a-novel-arkady-renko store_origin: HK region: Hong Kong --- # Red Square: A Novel (Arkady Renko) **Price:** HK$193 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Red Square: A Novel (Arkady Renko) - **How much does it cost?** HK$193 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hk](https://www.desertcart.hk/products/8511636-red-square-a-novel-arkady-renko) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: Red Square: A Novel (Arkady Renko): 9780345497727: Smith, Martin Cruz: Books Review: Brilliant! - This is a beautifully written book, more so because it has no literary pretension. Red Square is written as entertainment, and yet it is wonderfully literary, full of rich atmosphere, multi-faceted characterization and intelligent dialogue. To read it is to steep yourself in the cynical, contradictory, dysfunctional world of Soviet Russia, as seen through the character of criminal investigator Arkady Renko, a man simultaneously compelled to rebel against a corrupt system while being psychologically incapable of divorcing himself from it. It is this kind of contradiction that gives Renko his depth, and it is the wonderful dialogue Smith writes for him that gives him his appeal. Renko is the kind of person who never says anything that has only one meaning. When a customs agent at an airport remarks to him that he must be “anxious to go home,” he responds in his typically enigmatic way, “I am always anxious when I go home.” Renko is always the smartest person in the room, and always the person least invested in having people know that. He is someone who prevails not because he is stronger or more intelligent than everyone else, but because he understands his shortcomings better than his opponents understand theirs. Meanwhile, Smith peppers his prose with human insight and poetic description. Renko realizes that there’s a restaurant beyond a hedge, for instance, when he hears “the chatter of cutlery” from the other side. As for plotting, yes, there’s a plot. You have your KGB agents, your Russian mobsters, your fanatic Communists and your corrupt officials. Most of them end up dead, some as the result of particularly unpleasant experiences. There are a number of surprises and plot twists, a thread of romance and a smidgen of sex. What this book is really about, though, is a fascinating, complicated character who, in the process of making his way through a world that is painfully familiar to him, reveals a world that is refreshingly alien to us. Review: Where Is Red Square? - “Red Square” by Martin Cruz Smith is one of Smith’s Arkady Renko series. It is a police investigator story set in Moscow, Munich and Berlin during the final days of the crack-up of the former Soviet Union in the summer of 1991. There’s lots of killing, blowing people up, car wrecks, chases, stabbings and other murderous mayhem, all of which surrounds a kind of ridiculous love story between Arkady and Irina (and Max). There are the usual number of near-misses, serious injuries and hand-wringing intrigue, including double-cross episodes and lots of strange names to work your memory muscles over. There’s plenty of ethnic racism toward just about everyone but especially at Chechens, overt negativity about life in Russia, jealous contrasts between East and West, and overall a grand abundance of way too many pages in a story that should have ended long before it did. It’s too long with too many twists and turns, too many miraculous escapes and too many characters. The in-depth look at the differences between Americanized Western Europe and the disastrous results of 50 years of Communism in the East are stark and for the most part realistic. There is no humor as well there might not be in a story such as this. In sum, it was a very American story. Nonetheless, I liked the writing, I liked Arkady and his dilemmas, and I admired the intricate scenarios and the extensive travelogue-style visits to the 3 cities. As police detective stories go, this one is quite good. And yet, I could not help but compare author Smith to the Norwegian great contemporary writer, Jo Nesbo, who writes about similar people in Norway and has his own series of detective stories (the Harry Hole series). Smith is no Nesbo. However, I will try another by Smith. One learns, interestingly enough, about art and art history, as well as life in pre-Putin Russia. The words “Red Square,” it seems, stand for much more than the well-known plaza in front of the Kremlin. All-in-all I give it a 4.4, rounded down to an desertcart 4. It was entertaining, if a bit gruesome and at times just silly. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #452,875 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,699 in Espionage Thrillers (Books) #3,401 in Thriller & Suspense Action Fiction #3,512 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction | | Book 3 of 11 | Arkady Renko | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,891) | | Dimensions | 5.19 x 0.91 x 8 inches | | Edition | Reprint | | ISBN-10 | 0345497724 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0345497727 | | Item Weight | 10.4 ounces | | Language | English | | Print length | 400 pages | | Publication date | September 25, 2007 | | Publisher | Random House Publishing Group | ## Images ![Red Square: A Novel (Arkady Renko) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81v44Fk1UkL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliant! *by P***S on September 10, 2015* This is a beautifully written book, more so because it has no literary pretension. Red Square is written as entertainment, and yet it is wonderfully literary, full of rich atmosphere, multi-faceted characterization and intelligent dialogue. To read it is to steep yourself in the cynical, contradictory, dysfunctional world of Soviet Russia, as seen through the character of criminal investigator Arkady Renko, a man simultaneously compelled to rebel against a corrupt system while being psychologically incapable of divorcing himself from it. It is this kind of contradiction that gives Renko his depth, and it is the wonderful dialogue Smith writes for him that gives him his appeal. Renko is the kind of person who never says anything that has only one meaning. When a customs agent at an airport remarks to him that he must be “anxious to go home,” he responds in his typically enigmatic way, “I am always anxious when I go home.” Renko is always the smartest person in the room, and always the person least invested in having people know that. He is someone who prevails not because he is stronger or more intelligent than everyone else, but because he understands his shortcomings better than his opponents understand theirs. Meanwhile, Smith peppers his prose with human insight and poetic description. Renko realizes that there’s a restaurant beyond a hedge, for instance, when he hears “the chatter of cutlery” from the other side. As for plotting, yes, there’s a plot. You have your KGB agents, your Russian mobsters, your fanatic Communists and your corrupt officials. Most of them end up dead, some as the result of particularly unpleasant experiences. There are a number of surprises and plot twists, a thread of romance and a smidgen of sex. What this book is really about, though, is a fascinating, complicated character who, in the process of making his way through a world that is painfully familiar to him, reveals a world that is refreshingly alien to us. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Where Is Red Square? *by D***D on March 2, 2017* “Red Square” by Martin Cruz Smith is one of Smith’s Arkady Renko series. It is a police investigator story set in Moscow, Munich and Berlin during the final days of the crack-up of the former Soviet Union in the summer of 1991. There’s lots of killing, blowing people up, car wrecks, chases, stabbings and other murderous mayhem, all of which surrounds a kind of ridiculous love story between Arkady and Irina (and Max). There are the usual number of near-misses, serious injuries and hand-wringing intrigue, including double-cross episodes and lots of strange names to work your memory muscles over. There’s plenty of ethnic racism toward just about everyone but especially at Chechens, overt negativity about life in Russia, jealous contrasts between East and West, and overall a grand abundance of way too many pages in a story that should have ended long before it did. It’s too long with too many twists and turns, too many miraculous escapes and too many characters. The in-depth look at the differences between Americanized Western Europe and the disastrous results of 50 years of Communism in the East are stark and for the most part realistic. There is no humor as well there might not be in a story such as this. In sum, it was a very American story. Nonetheless, I liked the writing, I liked Arkady and his dilemmas, and I admired the intricate scenarios and the extensive travelogue-style visits to the 3 cities. As police detective stories go, this one is quite good. And yet, I could not help but compare author Smith to the Norwegian great contemporary writer, Jo Nesbo, who writes about similar people in Norway and has his own series of detective stories (the Harry Hole series). Smith is no Nesbo. However, I will try another by Smith. One learns, interestingly enough, about art and art history, as well as life in pre-Putin Russia. The words “Red Square,” it seems, stand for much more than the well-known plaza in front of the Kremlin. All-in-all I give it a 4.4, rounded down to an Amazon 4. It was entertaining, if a bit gruesome and at times just silly. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great Read! *by B***O on September 12, 2011* I have been a bit under the weather this summer and so I have done a lot of reading. I read Gorky Park years ago and enjoyed it as well as the film adaptation. Since this is a series, I thought I'd better read the Arkady Renko books in order. I must admit I was a little let down by Polar Star, and it certainly didn't prepare me for Red Square. This is an astonishing suspense novel. I hate to say, but it is surprisingly good. The locales are so well rendered, I really got a sense of Moscow, Munich and Berlin. The characters are fleshed out and the dialogue worthy of an Eastern bloc Elmore Leonard. There is a grimness to the story, the crimes and the places, but it is tempered by the black humor and ultimate likability of Arkady Renko. Martin Cruz Smith is a gifted writer and never so confident as with this book. The pacing is breakneck. I didn't want to put this one down... and I didn't want it to end. If that tattooed girl in Sweden leaves you cold (like that series left me), read this book. If you like hardboiled crime fiction, read this book. If you like simply good writing, read this book. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hk/products/8511636-red-square-a-novel-arkady-renko](https://www.desertcart.hk/products/8511636-red-square-a-novel-arkady-renko) --- *Product available on Desertcart Hong Kong* *Store origin: HK* *Last updated: 2026-04-30*