TATIANA Arkady Renko, Book 8

Sometimes the whole can be less than the sum of its parts, and that holds true with Henry Strozier's narration of this novel. Arkady Renko, senior investigator for Very Important Cases, returns for the eighth time in Smith's latest Russian police procedural. Many parts of Strozier's narration are superb; he doesn't create a pseudo Russian accent, he pronounces Russian names clearly, he uses a light tenor for female voices that works well, and he keeps the different characters' voices distinct. But the narration doesn't coalesce into a convincing delivery. The fatalism and bleakness of Smith's Russia don't manifest clearly, and the pacing occasionally seems sluggish. This is a great addition for fans of the Renko series, but newcomers may want to start with earlier books, like the stellar GORKY PARK. M.L.R. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2014]