Arkady is older - though not perhaps quite as old as he ought to be - and wiser and driving a desk in Putin's Moscow. Asked to fnd a gangster's missing daughter, he finds himself caught up in political activism and government suppression. Though also an nvestigation, this turns into a short, tight political thriller set on the eve of hte invasio of Ukraine, and ends up just trying to survive the utterly ruthless and cynical machinations of the Russian state. 

Though shorter than usual - though they have been getting shorter - this is masterful and packs a punch, and Renko remains a reliable likeable, if slightly worn and grubby, guide through the vagaries of Russian history and society.