Hotel Ukraine
The Final Arkady Renko Novel
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4.4 • 149 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Detective Arkady Renko—“one of the most compelling figures in modern fiction” (USA TODAY)—returns in this tense thriller set amid the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In the latest installment of Martin Cruz Smith’s celebrated Arkady Renko series, the legendary Moscow investigator seeks to solve the murder of a diplomat as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine wears on and the effects of Renko’s Parkinson’s Disease worsen. Helped by his lover, journalist Tatiana Petrovna, Renko traces the murder to a Russian paramilitary group aided by a government official who also used to be a romantic partner of Renko. Before long, those responsible for the killing look to similarly dispatch Arkady and Tatiana—all of it leading to a thrilling and action-packed climax. Hotel Ukraine upholds Martin Cruz Smith’s reputation as a master of modern detective fiction and Arkady Renko’s standing as one of the genre’s most complex protagonists.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moscow investigator Arkady Renko tackles a murder case just as Russia begins its 2022 assault on Ukraine in Smith's stellar sequel to Independence Square. With Putin's regime making it illegal to call the military operation a "war," a Parkinson's-stricken Renko is concerned about the safety of his adopted son, Zhenya, a vocal dissenter. As he wrestles with that anxiety, he's assigned a politically sensitive homicide: deputy defense minister Alexei Kazasky has been stabbed and bludgeoned to death at the Hotel Ukraine, near a wall where the number two was written in blood. The victim's government position, and the attack's timing in the opening hours of the war, draws intense scrutiny from Renko's superiors at the FSB intelligence agency. Renko's former lover, Marina Makarova, is assigned to assist him—though Renko soon suspects that she's more intent on applying political pressure in favor of the Kremlin than solving the murder. Smith draws immense pathos from Renko's struggles with Parkinson's, and he smoothly adapts the investigator's signature dedication to truth to Russia's current political climate. This long-running series remains as vital as ever.
Customer Reviews
Hotel Ukraine
Excellent. Smith is in that rarefied group of writers who can tell a good story, and bring the reader into the scenery. Word pictures require a certain talent, and the likes of James Lee Burke, Ian Rankin, Mick Herron, Daniel Silva, are scarce, but Smith fits right in.
Very good
Very good.
Great
My first one by this author. I’ll be reading some of his past works. Great story teller.