Sara-Jayne Townsend is a published crime and horror writer and likes books in which someone dies horribly. She is founder and Chair Person of the T Party Writers’ Group. http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com/
Ten lucky people have won a place at the most exclusive launch event of the century – the grand opening of the luxurious Hotel Artemis, the first hotel on the moon.
However, when the guests arrive they discover that not all is as it seems. The champagne is flowing but there’s no one to pour it. The ten guests are all alone – the hotel is deserted. When one of the guests is found murdered, fear spreads through the group. But that death is only the beginning. Being three days’ journey from home and with no way to contact the outside, the survivors are stranded. Will any of them make it home?
The scenario presents itself as the ultimate locked-room mystery, and the writing doesn’t disappoint. The story is told from the point of view of several characters, which is a more modern writing technique and moves away from the single POV character of the more classic ‘locked-room’ whodunnit. It does work with this story as it leads the reader to the understanding that just about every character in this novel is hiding a secret of some kind, but it did get a bit confusing at times, trying to keep track of who’s who and what their motives were. I did want to keep reading to find out what all these secrets were – we get little hints and snippets throughout, until all is revealed at the end.
When a second body turns up, things take an even more intriguing twist, and I was left wondering whether this really was going to turn out to be ‘And Then There Were None’ in space, with ten dead bodies in the hotel by the time the transport from earth turned up. But no spoilers here about the ending.
I really enjoyed this book. As well as the ingenious set up and murder mystery plot, the characters are realistic and flawed – not always likeable, but you still find yourself caring about what happens to them. Although having a hotel on the moon accessible to tourists makes this a near-future setting, don’t let that put you off if you don’t like science fiction. The moon setting is merely a plot device to secure the ‘locked-room’ scenario. Anyone who likes locked-room mysteries will love this book, and those who are fans of psychological thrillers should give it a go as well. You won’t be disappointed.
