I read HOTEL UKRAINE with a heavy heart knowing that Martin Cruz Smith had passed away just a few days after its release. In the Acknowledgments, Smith discussed his 30-year battle with Parkinson’s disease and was fully aware that this would be his final novel.

It wraps up a stellar series that began with GORKY PARK, which eventually became a hit film starring William Hurt. Smith chose to inflict his protagonist, Detective Arkady Renko, with Parkinson’s. It slows him down from time to time but never stops him in his pursuit of justice.

Justice has never come easy to Arkady, who is frequently called a Russian Sherlock Holmes, as he is often limited by the severe government control that surrounds him. Things have gotten volatile in the Putin regime as the war with Ukraine has just begun. It is illegal for government officials or law enforcement to say the word “war.” Those who use it flippantly risk being arrested and imprisoned. Instead, the term that they speak aloud to describe the conflict is “special military operation.”

"HOTEL UKRAINE is everything we have come to expect from this series and Martin Cruz Smith. It is a bittersweet goodbye to these novels, as well as Smith’s brilliant imagination and skill with manipulating the written word."

Arkady must work amidst a groundswell of pro-Ukraine sentiment along with watching his own government dispel the rumors that Putin is dying of cancer and is ripe for the picking. It is during this time that the deputy minister of defense, Alexei Kasasky, is found slain. Arkady’s superior, Zurin, puts him and his small team on the case --- but with an extremely short leash. It is also unknown to Zurin at this time that his best investigator is quietly succumbing to Parkinson’s.

The case is made more complicated for Arkady by the unexpected addition of his longtime adversary, Marina Makarova, who works with the FSB --- which was part of the KGB in the days of the former Soviet Union. Working against the FSB, and firmly on the side of Ukraine in the current conflict, is the SBU, and Arkady is aware of their agent, Blokhin. Arkady needs to find out if Blokhin’s group had played a part in Kasaky’s murder and knew that he was probably the only person whom Blokhin would trust enough to speak frankly with.

Meanwhile, Arkady must deal with his wife, Tatiana, a reporter who is doing a piece on the war for the New York Times, and his son, Zhenya, who is anti-Russia and pro-Ukraine. He loves his family and knows what people like Makarova would do if they could get their hands on his loved ones and expose them as Russian traitors. He also needs Tatiana’s knowledge of global foreign policy and Zhenya’s technical skills to aid him in his investigation.

In the room where Kasasky’s body is found, it appears that a “2” is written on the wall. Arkady later realizes that it’s a “Z,” a popular slogan in Ukraine protesting Russia’s invasion. Regrettably, Makarova learns of Arkady’s illness and turns him in, which subsequently finds him dropped from the case and placed on leave by Zurin. Of course, Arkady does not plan to let this slow him down as he travels with Tatiana to Ukraine where they meet with Blokhin to get some perspective. Their visit is quite eye-opening.

HOTEL UKRAINE is everything we have come to expect from this series and Martin Cruz Smith. It is a bittersweet goodbye to these novels, as well as Smith’s brilliant imagination and skill with manipulating the written word.