I got about 1/3 of the way through this book and will not be finishing it. Unfortunately, I find it unreadable. The tone of the writing is flat, uninteresting, (although this may be a factor of the translation), the plot is simply boring (I am not interested in the banking world), and the characters act in ways that are quite simply, cartoonish. I was expecting a complex layered plot and I understand there are some twists coming. Unfortunately I can’t work my way through the text to get to them.

Joel Dicker’s novel, The Enigma Of Room 622 is an absolute homage to Agatha Christie and is flawless with mystery upon mystery upon mystery within the pages of this unexpected imaginative story with an astonishing ending.

When a writer named Joel loses his girlfriend and then his publisher who was also a close friend suddenly dies, he tries to start a new novel, just as his assistant reminds him, she will be taking vacation which he of course forgot about. So, he decides to get away also and try and pull himself together to continue his work. He travels to a plush resort in the Swiss Alps called Hotel de Verbier hoping to relax. But upon checking in he notices something very strange. There seems to be no Room 622. Now, there is a 621 and a 623. Of all the rooms not to be listed, why is room 621 not there?

As he is mulling this over, he bumps into a woman named Scarlett who is as intrigued as he is, and she convinces him that they should investigate this strange enigma. And their curiosity is piqued deeper when no one at the hotel will give them any information as to why there is no room 622.

So, left on their own, they begin to put together what happened all those years ago. They discover there had been a murder in the room one weekend during an elaborate Bank Gala years ago where the new President of a large bank was going to be announced. The murder was never solved and in order to keep the reputation of the hotel in good standing, they wiped out all traces (including the room number) of the horrible event. Then Scarlett convinces Joel to write a book about the missing room, and the murder.

As they investigate, they come up with a cast of characters who could possibly be responsible for the murder. They begin interviewing witnesses from that weekend. What the reader soon discovers through going back in time years before and days before the actual fateful Bank Gala is the complexity of all the lives of the people connected to that weekend. What they will find as they dive into the characters is a foray of lies, deceits, espionage, greed, trickery, jealousy and affairs.

They begin to feel with all these clues, they themselves may really be able to solve the mystery. But soon begin to realize that not everything is as it seems. As they race around Europe following the past lives of the suspects, the two discover they have an incredible working bond. Excited about solving the mystery, they are also a bit hesitant because they know it will more than likely be the end of “them”. What will they finally discover?

The Enigma Of Room 622 is an incredible page turner, with stunning details no one could have ever seen coming, well, maybe Agatha Christie could have, but no one else! The ending is both surprising and wonderful at the same time!

Thank you #NetGalley #HarperVia #TheEnigmaOfRoom622 #Joel Dicker for the advanced copy.

How many twists a book can hold?! Apparently, as many as Joël Dicker wants to put in a story. You are bombarded with one twist after another and once you thought you have seen it all, bam! another one. I love a good twist to work my mind, but I’m not sure if I loved having this many. I have to give the credit where it’s due: although it was full of “let’s take another direction”, the story wasn’t confusing or sending the reader down the rabbit hole. Piece that made up the twists were very cleverly placed. You can guess something would come up, but not sure what.

Room 622… you were hiding so many secrets, remnants of so many traumas, and glimmer of hope. What happened in there on that night was both spontaneous and well planned. Someone was murdered. Someone hid something. Someone benefited from it without lifting a finger. Everyone eventually got what they want even though each had momentary doubt about it. It was up to this writer and a mysterious neighbor to figure out the whole operation. They needed to find out who pulled the trigger and who knew what. Because it would make hell of a story to tell.

One thing that I’m still trying to figure out about the book is the subplot with editor Bernard. Was it really an ode to him or did his story serve another purpose in the book? His death was the one of the reasons he decided to take a break, but I think it wasn’t adding much to the story.

Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly almost gave up this book around 30% but I just kept pushing through. It played out like a movie with the many twists and turns. I would take this with a grain of salt on the believability aspect but it’s so fun.

Someone was murdered in Room 622, and were trying to find out who died, how they died and why. I think this was one of the funnest book I read in a while!

DNF at 62%

Unfortunately, there is something lost in translation. The bones of a great book is here but I feel like the translation of this book is ruining it. The tone is difficult to figure out, the comedy is flat or cringe. I imagine with the right translator this might be a great book.

I hate rating books I didn't finish.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Joel Dicker writes a murder mystery novel that stretches over 15 years. In the vein of Anthony Horowitz' Hawthorne series, Dicker is a novelist character inside his own novel, and like Horowitz, takes on the role of investigator. Set mainly in the high-stakes banking world, and focusing on a murder in an elusive hotel, the book intertwines upon itself with unreliable characters and layers of deception.

Well done
4.2/5

I like slow moving mysteries, but this is brutally boring to the point of being unreadable.

There’s been some talk that the translation is bad for this book, so a lot of the problems may not be the fault of the author. But perhaps it’s just not for me.

It’s a pretty convoluted plot but the intricacy isn’t intriguing. There’s no atmosphere, no sense of place, and no real suspense.

The mystery itself largely revolves around a number of people who have a role in jockeying for a promotion to an executive position at a bank, which is just about the dullest backstory possible.

Add to that the fact that everyone in the book is unlikable and the humor either got lost in translation or just doesn’t land at all, and you’ve got a recipe for an exceptionally overlong mystery that isn’t worth your time.

There are loads of mysteries out there of a similar style that are infinitely better. Read one of those instead.

I struggled with this book. It's long and confusing at times and wasn't for me. I don't know if things were possibly lost in translation? I ended up having to dnf this book.

Although this book wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, I can see the appeal for those that like Agatha Christie or the type of books where you can tell something is amiss and you figure it out with the main character. There’s a dead body, a duplicate room that used to have a different number and a questionable successor to the bank.

Picked this book up on a whim from NetGalley - who doesn't love a good whodunnit? - and was incredibly impressed. I couldn't put this thing down. The plot here is so damn convoluted, and there are so many characters, and so many time jumps, and yet... I never felt confused! I knew exactly what was happening and couldn't wait to keep reading.

The prose leaves much to desires here, it's incredibly plain. I am not sure if that's from the translation or what, but it's definitely very basic/simple prose. Honestly, it reminded me a bit of the way that The Count of the Monte Cristo is told! I don't need fancy prose to go with my convoluted mystery, I had plenty of fun as is!

Highly recommend for the mystery fans out there!

Stories that have been translated into another language can lose its original impact. I haven’t read this is it’s original language but I feel the impact probably didn’t chang. The book was very intriguing and captivating. It held me the whole time with all the twist and turns. The author pulls you into this world with easy. I highly recommend it.

This isn’t my type of book but I didn’t realize it before I started. People who will love this: Anthony Horowitz fans, fans of older classic mysteries; and people who enjoy a character driven story. Anyone who is looking for a fast-paced mystery should skip this. I’m reviewing this with 4 stars based on the fact that I know some readers will devour this book.

I started this book with incredibly high hopes that I would be both thrilled and engaged. However, I found myself disappointed when I spent most of the book feeling neither. The Enigma of Room 622 has all the makings of an incredible book, the plot itself is interesting, the characters are fully formed and the writing was well done. Putting all of these things together should have been amazing, instead, it fell flat.

The Enigma of Room 622 fell into the trap of providing far too much information. From backgrounds to the actual mystery, there was simply too much. The back and forth between the characters and their individual timelines paired with the back and forth in the life of the author was confusing and bogged the story down. With the shifting POVs comes redescriptions of scenes that have already been established, adding a layer of repetition to the already over-detailed prose. Additionally, the slow pacing made it hard to become fully invested in the mystery.

There is so much mystery and intrigue that it was hard to stay focused on the details that were really important to the story. This is unfortunate because the actual plot twists could have been shocking if I hadn't lost interest by the time I got to that point. There are loose ends everywhere, and while they were tied up nicely in the end, these ends led to a muddling of the primary mystery at every turn.

I really enjoyed some of the twists in the story and the plot took directions that I didn’t expect, but overall, I am having a hard time recommending this book right now. The ending was definitely satisfying, but the journey to it was a slog. With all of that, nothing is fundamentally wrong with the book. Its just not the book for me.

⅗ with bonus points for the satisfying ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Via for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

<b>Note:</b> I reicved a copy of this book via NetGalley.

One night in December, a corpse is found in Room 622 of the Hotel Verbier, a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps. A police investigation begins without definite end, and public interest wanes with the passage of time. Years later, the writer Joel Dicker, Switzerland's most famous literary ingenue, arrives at that same hotel to recover from a bad breakup, mourn the death of his longtime publisher, and begin his next novel. Little does Joel know that his expertise in the art of the thriller will come in handy when he finds himself investigating the crime. He'll need a Watson, of course: in this case, that would be Scarlett, the beautiful guest and aspiring novelist from the next room, who joins in the search while he tries to solve another puzzle: the plot of his next book. Meanwhile, in the wake of his father's passing, Macaire Ebezner is set to take over as president of the largest private bank in Switzerland. The succession captivates the news media, and the future looks bright, until it doesn't. The bank's board, including a certain Lev Levovitch-Geneva's very own Jay Gatsby-have other plans, and Macaire's race to the top soon becomes a race against time... A matryoshka doll of a mystery built with the precision of a Swiss watch.

I don't even know what I just read. This was very disappointing, I did not even end up caring who the murderer was. I did not like the characters and I did not like the story.

So I didn’t realize this book was translated until I got part of the way through it and was confused with why the writing seemed so strange. I don’t know if that’s why I didn’t like the book or if it just wasnt for me but it was hard to get through thanks NetGalley galley for the ARC

I really enjoyed this overly long, convoluted mystery novel. Told from multiple perspectives over a variety of timelines is what made it convoluted, although i had not trouble following the story line. The characters were engaging.and the continuous twists, especially the final revelation, kept me guessing until the very end. Strongly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper/VIA publishing for an advanced reader copy.

The Enigma of Room 622 is ostensibly about a writer trying to find more information about a murder that happened in a hotel room. The word "mystery" gets tossed around a lot about this book. And it is a mystery, but it wasn't one that I enjoyed.

The book moves back and forth in time, building a sense of place and character, trying to create a momentum leading up to a pivotal event- the murder. And while the writing is good, the pacing is glacial and the book struggles under the weight of the movement between time frames. The reader doesn't even know who is murder until nearly three-quarters of the way through the book.

There were individual parts of what I read that I enjoyed, but I eventually gave up and did not finish the book. I think there is definitely an audience for this book. I think there is some very good stuff buried under the endless plot. But it wasn't for me.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍, 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆’𝒔 𝒗𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”

I definitely was intrigued by the premise of this novel when seeing it featured in the HarperCollins Fall Preview session. It sounded like my kind of novel: a locked-room mystery at a hotel trying to figure out what happened in room 622?!

I was so glad that I had both a digital ARC and an audiobook copy of to both read and listen too. This book is LONG and I wouldn’t have gotten through it as easily without switching back and forth. Listening to the narration by Chris Harper at first was tough; I felt like he was a little flat, but it almost seemed to become more animated as he got into the book. The audio was super useful in knowing how to pronounce many characters’ names too! There is also a TON of backstory; some of it is super interesting and some of it is not. Part 1 in particular reminded me of Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero, where it’s the lead up and drama between characters to a murder that is almost more important than the actual murder itself. The story switches back and forth between being meta (Joël Dicker as both author and character in the story) and, I think, being the novel the character is writing. While I appreciated getting to learn about these characters in depth, it took a long time for the story to truly pick up. Once it got Part 3 and 4 though, I couldn’t listen and read fast enough, with red herrings being revealed and some twists that had me stunned! I did feel like in the end, there was too much detail and repetition that tended to be confusing and drawn out; it was not the locked-room mystery I thought it was going to be, but rather a character study of a love triangle and brotherhood.

The Enigma of Room 622 is a story about deception, remembrance, complicated parental relationships, and the importance of using the time we have well. Thank you to HarperCollins, Quercus Audio and NetGalley for the ARCs!

This book was full of so many surprises! The chapters consistently switched it up and ended on big moments so it was engrossing and kept me wanting to read. However, this pacing did not curb the fact that the book simply feels too long. I had several moments where I felt like the book could wrap up and then would realize I still had 25-50% of the book left! I recommend to anyone needing a cozy mystery as long as you're prepared to stay cozy for a good long while.

This book was just not for me. I wasn't a fan of the writing style, and I felt like I was trudging through it. I've read lots of thrillers, and the main issue they seem to run into is pacing. This one was about 30% longer then was necessary in my opinion, but some people might enjoy this cozy whodunit. It was interesting enough, especially if the fact that some hotels don't have a 13th floor interests you at all.
I think personally, it was a solid 2.5 🌟