🕵️‍♂️⚖️ Book Review: Hotel Melikov by Jonathan Payne

Jonathan Payne delivers again with Hotel Melikov — a hilarious, fast-paced sequel to Citizen Orlov that proves satire is alive, well, and wielding a bayonet. Comrade Orlov, once a humble fishmonger, now unwilling Minister of Security, ricochets from one absurd political crisis to another. Caught between shifting allegiances, secret plots, heavily armed nuns, and the threat of actual governance, Orlov remains both out of his depth and weirdly indispensable. Think The Good Soldier Švejk meets The Thick of It in a fictional Eastern European nation teetering on collapse.

🧨 What Works:

Biting, clever satire that skewers political institutions with surgical wit

Orlov’s perfectly balanced character — bumbling yet oddly shrewd

Snappy pacing and sharp cliffhangers make for a compulsively readable ride

Echoes of Greene, Ludlum, and Hašek, but with Payne’s distinct comedic voice

Short, punchy chapters and a tight page count keep it lean and impactful

🕳️ What Doesn’t:

New readers may miss nuances without reading Citizen Orlov first (though it still stands well alone)

The satire is layered — if you’re not tuned into political absurdity, a few jabs might fly under the radar

🎖️ 4.5/5 – A glorious circus of espionage, ineptitude, and revolutionary zeal. Jonathan Payne is in top form—bring on book three.

Reminded me of “Our man in Havana” with an innocent caught up in political machinations, and “Gulliver’s Travels” also.
It is very funny but also has some biting satire regarding government and political parties. One would expect a fishmonger to have a fairly boring life but comrade Orlov gets swept up by events during political unrest.
This madcap adventure was a perfect shortish length too. A great read and not having read the first in the series I will have to look out for the next one which is bound to follow.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I had not read the first book about our wandering fishmonger now minister for security and after this I don’t think I will bother, not what I had surmised from the synopsis or the reviews of the first book, not for me sadly

Former fishmonger Citizen Orlov finds himself in the crosshairs of a civil war. Appointed Minister of Security by a shaky ruling party, Orlov just wants to get back to selling bream and halibut at reasonable prices. There’s no time for fishy business though as the country teeters on anarchy. Forced into choosing sides after both of the warring factions ask Orlov to spy on the other, it’s little wonder that the simplicity of pricing up a fresh cod holds a lot of appeal. Still, with the monarchy threatened and an order of nuns in town, Orlov must step up and do what’s right for his nation. From humble origins, it’s this citizen’s time to shine.

Fantastic fun and pleasingly absurd, Hotel Melikov reminds us that it isn’t where you begin, it’s where you end up. From the evidence to date, I’m backing Citizen Orlov to carry on the good work.

I was granted a free review copy of Hotel Melikov and am leaving this review voluntarily.