And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." - Exodus 2:6
Martin Cruz Smith continually amazes me with the Investigator Arkady Renko novels. They all reek despair . . . but in totally different ways. Renko never seems to have been in a more untenable spot than in Three Stations due to his job being terminated. That doesn't seem to bother him. Renko still wants to exercise his special skill: finding the bad guys who do unspeakable things.
The book's settings are very powerful. If you have ever been in a large train station (such as Grand Central in New York City), you have probably wondered about whether people live in the tunnels underneath the station and what dramas are being played out on the trans that come and go. Mr. Smith beautifully draws on such speculations to weave a powerful tale of corruption and redemption.
You'll be moved, too, by the parts of the story that feature a young mother who is about to have an encounter on a train that she'll never forget.
I listened to the unabridged recording read by Ron McLarty and highly recommend this version if you like to listen to books.