It’s because around half the writing builds a most intriguing tale of triple murder and the subsequent investigation, but the other half is full of characterisation so expertly presented in all its various guises that the characters spring vividly to life. So when, for example, Chief Investigator Renko goes home for the night hoping to save his ailing marriage only to find that his wife has left him, the subsequent – and delightfully understated – phone call telling him that his suspect/informant Golodkin and junior investigator Pasha have been found dead from gunshot wounds, it’s a real shock. Of course it was a shock; I knew these people almost as well as I know my neighbours, and I felt for poor old Renko because the chap was having such a bad time already.
And that’s a skill I never had as a writer, but at least my first response was to appreciate and applaud Smith’s skill. My shame at being personally below par came later.
(My only difficulty with the text is the question of all the Russian names of people and places. If I try to fathom how to pronounce them from the – albeit non-Cyrillic – spelling, I’m be wasting time and possibly losing track of the plot. If I don’t, how will I recognise them when they crop up again? So far I'm choosing the lazy option. Why isn’t life ever easy?)
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