I have never read this author before but seeing the cover and reading the blurb I was excited to jump into the mystery and explore a new world; Unfortunately, didn’t care for this story at all.

The expectations I had for the story line, the characters, the plot, and the mystery were so far off. The story was so disjointed, the characters one dimensional, the mystery was so buried under the mess of the rest of the story that I didn’t care for solving it at all, and the cliches were too many to ignore.

The main character spends so much time reminiscing about his recently deceased mentor and explain how much of a man's man he is that I couldn’t get past the unlikable aspects to enjoy what might have been. Not to mention the random time jumps and the stereotypical characters.

I am fully willing to admit that I just might not be the right audience for this and that happens. I received an ARC via NetGalley and Harper Via and I am leaving an honest review.

Joël Dicker is a well known Swiss writer. In the Enigma Joël starts as himself - a well known writer who is suffering from writer's block and from a breakup. Joël's mentor has just died and he has decided to take a vacation to try to get back on track. While in a very fancy Swiss hotel, Dicker meets a new potential love interest and while advising her on writing, she discovers an old murder that took place in room 622. The rest of the book revolves around the pair learning more about the murder and attempting to solve it. Many, many characters and plotlines are introduced which come together at the end. If you like homages to Agatha Christie, and large, sprawling mysteries, then The Enigma of Room 662 is for you! #HarperVia #NetGalley #TheEnigmaofRoom622 #Dicker

A pompous effort hindered further by a soulless translation, it is rare to encounter a novel where everything is working against itself, and I genuinely don't know who could find enjoyment out of Joël Dicker's The Enigma of Room 622 (the US edition).

I'm still at a loss on the novel's tone, and in large part is due to the mismatched translation by Robert Bononno; there's a constant disconnect between the basic, rudimentary phrasing, and the larger-than-life comedic scenarios; every jokey exchange is delivered flat, and emotion never resonates because I can't determine whether the original intent is going for bombastic melodrama, or subtle authenticity. As a result, I'm not at all engaged in its tangled web of deceit, infidelity, and corporate power struggle, which while admirably complex, feels cartoonish and definitely overstays its welcome at nearing 600 pages.

The novel also goes meta-fiction with a parallel narrative featuring Joël Dicker (the author himself) researches the titular (fictional) mystery, experiences writer's block, and reminisces about his (real life) mentor/editor Bernard de Fallois. This material could be too foreign for the US audience to fully 'get' and appreciate, as neither the author nor the editor has the same name recognition here comparing to their home country. It doesn't stop there, The Enigma of Room 622 goes even further with a 'meta-squared' maneuver near the end; while I actually enjoy for how obnoxious it is, it has absolutely no relevance or stylistic correlation to the plot before it.

The Enigma of Room 622 might be the most bloated, messy novel I've read this year. In large part I truly believe is due to the horrendous translation, which misses out on all the nuances of the French language and European attitude. I'm curious to seek out reviews of this novel in its original form, because reading the US edition alone, this is beyond a slight career misfire from an established, award-winning author, this is embarrassingly bad.

I felt like this could have been a very successful YA book but it feel short as a adult thriller. The characters were childish and not fleshed out enough for me to enjoy

This book started out well but got very confusing. The constant time changes did not help. The book is a very interesting concept and just needed to land the execution a little better.

I finished this book although I considered not finishing. I think there were a few too many time shifts and it got a bit confusing at times. I thought the mystery was well pieced together. Stories about families and expectations are always intriguing.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harperviabooks for this ARC.

Started out well but then started petering out. Dragged quite a bit. There were plenty of twists and turns but they are hampered by slow writing or maybe the text that didn't translate well.

This was a horrible read. A total DNF. And that very rarely happens. All the major character does in the beginning is smoke incessantly and try to hook up with women. I just couldn't get into the book. I'm giving it a 1 star.

I was happy to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book as I had read and enjoyed his previous book, The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair. I thought this one was even more clever, and I liked the premise and Swiss locales. There are countless red herrings in the story, and they cause the book to be longer than the typical mystery, but I didn't think there was much that could have been edited out. Maybe the author anticipates another 10-part mini-series based on this book, but I would have been happier with a shorter book. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me access to this book which I highly recommend.

I’ve never read anything like this. This feels like a book for people who love the movie Burn After Reading. It is so intricate in the details and surprisingly, through all of the plot twists I couldn’t find any holes for flaws. It is really well thought out and planned. My 2 complaints: I felt that some of the descriptions could have been more efficient “show the reader instead of telling the reader” this just made the book long. Second, at times I thought the translation to English was off. Things like idioms shouldn’t be word for word translations. I thought that was a little distracting at first.

A good mystery book with a fair amount of twists and turns. The flashbacks kept the plot moving along while keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Thank you Netgalley and HarperVia!

Interesting book with a great story line. Kept me reading wanting to know what would happen next. The main character is intriguing. Recommend reading! Thank you NetGalley !

This started out with great promise, but about a third of the wsy through I grew tired of the repetitions and the constant time changes that interrupted any flow. This is a very very long book—i skipped to near the end for the dazzling (but improbable) twists and fidnt feel I missed much

First off I would like to thank NetGalley and Harperviabooks for providing me with this ARC. A corpse is found in room 622 of the Hotel Verbier. A police investigation begins but the murder goes unsolved for 10 years. A burnt out author, Joel Dicker, arrives at the hotel to write his next novel. Joel is accidentally placed in room 622 and it gives him the passion to solve the murder. The book is written with 3 different timelines. This made me like the book because you didn’t know who was the victim or the murderer. I liked the author’s writing style and it flows very well. While the book is over 600 pages (wow lol) it’s worth the read and you’ll fly through the pages.

How far will you go to get what you want? That’s exactly the question Macaire Ebezner finds himself wondering more than once in life. When Macaire’s father passes away, he finds his father changed the way his successor as Bank President will be selected. For the first time in centuries, the new President will be selected based upon their qualifications, not based upon their lineage, which means Macaire may not be named President, even though an Ebezner has always been the head of Ebezner Bank. How far will Macaire go to secure what he feels is his birthright? Two decades, three board members, and one decision, but only time will tell the outcome.

This book was one wild ride. Just when you think you’re getting somewhere, we head back to the past, then back to the present. While the back and forth between times drove me a bit crazy at times, since it kept delaying the next piece of information, it delivered on what the author intended…a true thriller with suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat at times. Definitely a great read that I have recommended to my husband and others.

I was sucked into this from the beginning but at parts, especially in the middle this did seem to drag on and go nowhere. I know this was originally published in French, and I feel like some aspects didn't translate too well. This was also very long. A fine mystery but nothing new or noteworthy.

Big miss for me, really wanted to love this. Slow, plodding, overstuffed, unbelievable, terrible dialogue.

A cool concept but I found the writing a little stilted for my taste -- possibly due to translation? Well known Swiss author Joel Dicker (yes -- the author!) puts his mystery writing chops to work investigating an old crime in the very spot he has chosen to renew and refresh himself.