Marilyn's Mystery Reads

In July I wrote about the passing of Martin Cruz Smith, an author I have been reading for years.  In that Appreciation I noted that his last novel, the final one in the Arkady Renko series, was published just three days before Mr. Smith’s death.  Thus writing this blog is bittersweet.

Hotel Ukraine could have been taken out of today’s headlines.  It opens with the Russian bombing of Kyiv and a crowd of Russians demonstrating in Pushkinskaya Square.  Arkady is there because he knows his adopted son Zhenya will be part of the group protesting the beginning of the war or, as the Russians are insisting on calling it, the “special military operation.”  Calling it a war is forbidden.

The following day Arkady is called to police headquarters where he learns of the murder of Alexei Kazasky, a minister of defense.  He will be the lead investigator for the MVD, the Russian Police Force, and to his dismay but not to his surprise, he will be paired with the Russian Security Service in the person of Marina Makarova.  The two have a long history, starting with an investigation into Chechen organized crime, morphing into an intimate relationship, and ending on an unhappy note.  That is in the distant past, however, although Renko wonders what that means for their present partnership.

The investigation begins with Marina telling Arkady that they’ve arrested a suspect for the murder, a diplomat at the Ukranian Embassy; since Ukraine broke off diplomatic relations a few hours earlier, Yuri Blokhin no longer has immunity from arrest.  Marina interrogates Blokhin for hours without getting past his denials, but she’s determined to break him.

She tells Renko that she had three operatives following Blokhin the night before, but the detective is suspicious.  He tells Marina he wants to interrogate the operatives separately to be certain that he can give his supervisor the complete testimony, and Marina can’t think of a logical way to stop him.  When Renko questions the men, each one tells him a slightly different story with varying details–different car models are mentioned, different drinks itemized, their descriptions of how Blokhin looked at the end of the evening don’t match.  Marina has no option but to free him.

Receiving a copy of Kazasky’s itinerary for the days preceding his murder, the only item that stands out is a visit to the 1812 Judo Club, owned by Lev Volkov.  The club’s name is an obvious reference to the Russian victory over Napoleon in that year, a date that every Russian knows.  The club is, in reality, a private army run by Volkov, with a membership of several thousand.  The members receive high pay from the government as well as medals for Orders of Courage and Services to the Motherland.  The comrades are involved not only in countries that were former Soviet bloc members but in a number of African nations as well, namely Mali and the Central African Republic.

Lev Volkov is an influential man, and now Arkady has two powerful opponents to deal with as he attempts to discover the truth about Alexei Kazasky’s death.

Martin Cruz Smith’s final novel is a brilliant coda to the Arkady Renko story.  You can read more about the author at this website.

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads at her website.  In addition to book review posts, there are sections featuring Golden Oldies, Past Masters and Mistresses, and an About Marilyn column that features her opinions about everything to do with mystery novels.

One Response to “HOTEL UKRAINE by Martin Cruz Smith: Book Review”