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 🌟

I read The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair when it came out, many, many years ago and I absolutely loved it. I thought it was well written and I was shocked by the ending. It’s honestly still a book I think about many years later. I was very excited to receive a copy of this author’s latest book. However, The Enigma of Room 622 just wasn’t for me. I was really intrigued at the beginning and couldn’t wait to see where the story was going to go but it just seemed so long and never really got anywhere for me. The jumping between stories was also very jarring. It didn’t seem very cohesive and made it extremely hard to follow along. The characters were also very pretentious and unlikeable, but still I pursued because I loved The Harry Quebert Affair so much. 600 pages later and I finished the book but am still left confused. It may have to do with translation issues, but I wish this book would have been shorter and more to the point. All that said, I would still read another book by this author in the hopes of a more redeeming novel.

Unfortunately this story didn't end up being super engaging for me. While I was intrigued by the initial framing of the story of a writer trying to solve a mystery in a hotel, the other parts of the narrative made me lose interest. I also found the writing style difficult to follow.

This book was such a disappointment. I don’t know if it was an issue with the translation, but I just found it awkward and clumsy.

The Engimma of Room 622
⭐️⭐️
Genre:
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 9/15/22
Author: Joel Dicker
Publisher: HarperVia
Goodreads Rating: 3.91

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and HarperVia and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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 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. Meanwhile, this is occurring in the wake of some political uneasiness. A matryoshka doll of a mystery built with the precision of a Swiss watch.

My Thoughts: I really wanted to love this book after I saw a few reviews on Instagram, unfortunately, if fell a little flat for me. I cannot remember the last time that I rated something only 2 stars. This novel just did not work for me. I was initially very confused by this writing. I thought it was a book in a book, on the premise of a thriller/mystery. This was more of corporation conspiracy, which I am not a big fan of. The mystery/thriller was a very small part of the over 500 page novel. I could not make heads or tails of the characters. When the POV changed, it was inconsistent and without warning. Some of the convulsion may be due to the translation into English, which would not be on the fault of the author.

I want to start off saying that I really enjoyed my time with this book. In spite of all of the things I’ll list below that may be perceived as negatives. The combination of all of these wacky elements somehow made for a fun book. But it was WAY too long.

This felt like a soap opera, noir, and scooby doo all mixed into one. The characters were all silly and self-absorbed (besides Joel which is the author himself being written into the story) and the plot is convoluted and EXTREMELY unbelievable. There is just absolutely no way these events could be believed to have happened in real life between successful, intelligent adults. The timeline jumps around continuously between years and locations and POVs, which did get confusing.

This also is not a locked room mystery/isolated closed circle mystery. While the murder did take place at the hotel, this was in a past timeline and we are not confined to the hotel.

I feel like I’m going to look back on this reading experience fondly as something unique and silly but that kept me entertained through most of the 750+ pages.

I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I'd like to thank NetGalley and HarperVia for the digital copy of the Advanced Readers Copy of The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker in exchange for my honest review. I was excited to be selected to review this book ahead of its release in the United States.

Let me begin by saying I had high hopes for Joël Dicker's The Enigma of Room 622, but I found it to be a bit too convoluted and long for my taste. It could have easily been shorter and still gotten the same point across. There were times when the transitions between past and present felt a little off, and my interest in the storyline would wane. Don't get me wrong though, I did enjoy the story quite a bit.

This novel seemed to be somewhat semi-autobiographical with the author using his recently deceased publisher in the story, and the main character is an author having trouble coming up with a storyline after the death of the publisher. I'd be interested to see if anyone else felt the same way.

I also have to mention that there were quite a few words that I had to look up in a dictionary as I had never heard of those words used in common language, or for that matter, in any other books I've read. These words included fecundity, anodyne, bis, and attenuating. I'm all for using synonyms for words, but I don't particularly like it when a word that isn't commonly spoken is utilized when a different, more common word would have sufficed.

All in all, I enjoyed The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker and didn't see the end coming. I gave this book three out of five stars and will definitely read some of the author's other works.

“The Enigma of Room 622” by Joel Dicker - BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤/5

A dead body is found in Room 622 at a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps, Hotel Verbier. A few days prior, Macaire Ebezner is on cloud 9 thinking he is being named President of his family’s bank … but suddenly the title is going to someone else outside of the blood line 😬. This madness must be stopped immediately! But how???

Years later, author Joel dicker arrives at the hotel and becomes CONSUMED with the mystery of Room 622. He joins forces with another hotel guest named Scarlett, whose curiosity is just as piqued about what REALLY happened in Room 622. The murder was never solved and they are adamant to solve it for themselves and perhaps be the topic for Joel’s next best selling book.

So, I LIKED this mystery book but I do have a couple qualms about it:
-Confusing at times (hard to keep track of dual time lines and characters)
-Too drawn out (much longer than it needed to be; 600 pages was far too long)

Thank you @harpercollinsca and @netgalley for an advanced digital readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review ⭐️

Frist and foremost, I loved this book. Switzerland. Luxury Hotel. Murder. For fans of mysteries and suspense, The Enigma of Room 622 is what dreams are made of.

This book is the classic definition of a page turner, as I could not read it fast enough to learn what happens next. With twists and turns to the very end, the novel kept my imagination racing.

Overall, this novel should be the blueprint of how to write a mystery novel: the scenery, the setup, the characters, the clues, the crime, the reveal... the real reveal.

This was my first book by Dicker, but it definitely won't be my last.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Joël Dicker for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Enigma of Room 622 coming out September 13, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Joël is Switzerland’s most renown novelist. He plans a getaway to the Hôtel de Verbier, which is a luxury resort in the Swiss Alps. He had a recent breakup and is grieving his longtime publisher’s death. Joël hopes to rest. However, his plans quickly change. It begins with a seemingly odd detail: at the Verbier, there is no room 622. 

Soon after Joël and another guest Scarlett uncover a cold case that transpired in the hotel's room 622. It all has to do with the succession of Switzerland’s largest private bank, a mysterious counterintelligence operation called P-30, and sabotage of hotel hospitality.

First of all the murder occurs on my birthday and I love that, haha! I wasn’t aware this book was a translation into English, but I found the story fascinating! I enjoy reading translated stories for the different perspective. I think it was well-written and captivating. I felt transported into this world that I have little experience with. The timeline does jump around quite a bit, so I definitely had to pay attention to what was going on. The book was on the long side. The parts about picking the new bank president did go a little slowly for me. I understand there are politics that go into choosing a successor and that people tend to get greedy and want to be the next president. So it did play a part in the murder, but the process for choosing the successor took a little long. I was more interested in Joël and Scarlett solving the mystery of Room 622. Anastasia and Lev were also really interesting, fleshed out characters to me. I think it could’ve been a little tighter story-wise. Some of it ended up feeling slightly repetitive and I wanted them to find out the killer faster. I did enjoy the twists though.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries set in luxurious hotels around the world.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Unfortunately, The Enigma of Room622 ended up in my "did not finish" pile. From the description, I was expecting a face-paced, traditional mystery novel. At first, it seemed the The Enigma was going to deliver.
I enjoyed the European locale, the backstory of the main character (an author)and the mysterious hints about a secret in the hotel's past. However, the conversations were stilted and the story veered off into international business intrigue and espionage. That was where I lost interest. I am a little sorry I didn't push through... I feel like maybe there was a pay off in there. I would recommend to readers looking for rhose elements, but it just didn't capture my interest.
I received a copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my opinion.

This book had a lot going on. Many characters, and side stories as well as a story within a story.
It was too much for me, but many will love it.

Hmmm. The Enigma of Room 622 was definitely an enigma for me. Over 600 pages leading to nowhere. I can’t believe this mess was written by the same person who wrote the excellent Harry Quebert book. This book was definitely not worth eleven hours of my time—or of yours. 1 star.

Thanks to Harper Via and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.