Very enjoyable fantasy / science fiction / locked room detective mystery story. Not a combination I ever expected to read to be honest… felt really fresh. Great use of a quasi-First Nations mythology, nonsense science fiction concepts that are suitably embedded in the story to ignore the nonsense aspect, time travel and an inexperienced ‘detective’ establishing what really happened.

Best to know little more and get stuck in.

3/5 Good.

Black Lake Manor is another High Concept Thriller from Guy Morpuss following the excellent debut that was Five Minds.

Set in the future, this is a locked room mystery set on Vancouver Island in the mansion of Lincoln Shan, A bit of the Steve Jobs of 2045.

The locked room mystery itself differs from the norm in that the high concept twist is that some of the 6 suspects have a power that allows them to turn back time 6 hours - only once- in the event of a death.

A story steeped in ancient myth, it’s very clever and Morpuss has a style of writing I very much like.

I did, however find it a tad repetitive at times and a little slow but overall it’s a good read, with some gore and a nicely twisty finale.

Set in a standard storm lashed, isolated, coatal manor house with a variety of possible suspects to the murder of a hugely wealthy, self obsessed, controlling man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. The twist is that we are in the future where hard light is a reality, taking hollogram type things to a realistic level. People who are present but not really there called Ghost Dancers (a name stolen from the ancient heritage of the indiginous peoples who were not best pleased). We have to learn who may be real or Ghost Dancers throughout the novel.
Then we have ancient, ritualistic native peoples with a 'gift' to mess with time when they summon the wolf to 'Eat Time' with a magic word and the touch of a tattoo that only the chosen can bear. Add to the mix unrequited love in the present and from childhood within the group, it is a tangled affair all round which adds to the main protagonist's own personal difficulties in solving the mystery while cut off from the outside world and having to interview all the suspects whowm she is entatangled. Not an easy task.
The plot is so complicated with ancient beliefs and characters with bizarre abilities, super high tech 'now' and the swapping of time frames spanning hundreds of years, it made me dizzy. There were smatterings of the Lincoln & Child Pendergast series mixed with The Catch 22 time jumps but not as well executed which is hardly surprising as those writers are supreme and this is the writers first novel.
As a reader of this genre, I surmised the outcome well before it became clear, sadly. I can't say I truly enjoyed it as the flipping back and forth made me think I was re reading some of the plot. That was the point, but I didn't like that. Also, the fact that the murder victim was obviously a narcissist from childhood was tolerated by those same friends in adulthood, they would have abandoned him.
To be honest, it was an ok and unusual plot line for a whodunnit, but I would be ok with the wolf eating time to before I read it and choose antother title. My favourite character in the book was the lawyer, he felt the most rounded to me and although unpleasant as most of them are, he stood out for me.
Yes, read it, be prepared for the repeat paragraphs as you re live time jumping back and enjoy the ride. I haven't mentioned some segments on purpose, as you may find it fun.

As you might be able to tell from its cover, Guy Morpuss’s second book, Black Lake Manor, owes something of a debt to Agatha Christie. But don’t be fooled by the aesthetic. This is far from your group of wealthy potential murderers in a remote house, clutching pearls and slinging insults and martinis. Black Lake Manor is a thoroughly (post)modern affair.

At his remote manor house on Vancouver Island, tech giant CEO Lincoln Shar holds a party to announce his new product, hardlight ‘ghosts’ that allow the user an immersive experience that gives them a physical presence wherever they want. When the power goes, it turns out that only a handful of guests are physically present, which severely limits the pool of suspects when Lincoln is murdered in the night – or does it? Mixing a classic locked-room murder mystery with time travel, futuristic tech, and Native American lore, Black Lake Manor will have your head spinning with red herrings before reaching a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.

Those who enjoyed Morpuss’s first book, Five Minds, will know that the author likes to keep the reader guessing. In that book he destabilised the reader with multiple minds living in the same body – a body that might have committed a crime, even if most of the minds inside knew nothing about it. Here he does similar things with time travel, layering potential suspects on top of each other in a way that will have you flipping back and forth to double check which timelines match.

In addition to the ‘present’s’ skimming through time, there is an additional narrative set on the same spit of land, describing the establishment of fictional Native American tribe, the Akhat. But again, things are not quite what they seem, and again, Morpuss likes to keep the reader guessing to the very end.

Black Lake Manor is the perfect gift for anyone who wants that original Agatha Christie feel with a layer of twenty-first-century technology muddying the waters. A complex mystery with traditional values and motives, but with some of the weirdness and wonder that comes with near-future settings .

Black Lake Manor

An unusual and original thriller that kept me turning the pages feverishly!

In the old mining town of Black Lake there is a myth about a survivor of a shipwreck whose descendants have the ability to unwind time. Two hundred years later Constable Ella Manning is attending a lavish party at Black Lake Manor when a storm traps all attendees. When the host is found murdered the following morning, Ella is the only one placed to solve the crime. Ella thinks she has identified the killer…and then someone unwinds time. Can she complete her investigation again and get the same result? Or is there more to discover.

One of the most original concepts for a thriller and a refreshing twist on the locked-room Agatha Christie style mystery. The unwinding of time makes our narrator Ella unreliable, but also allows us to relate to her as we investigate alongside her.

The narrative is split between the time of the murder, 2045, Ella’s childhood 20 years previous, and the start of the unique time-bending ability over two hundred years before. I read the majority of this novel in one sitting which I think helped me understand it; I may have found it a little harder to follow if I read in short bursts. The unwinding of time was really intriguing as a concept and really had me scratching my head as I noticed little differences between each time-period.

Morpuss has crafted this novel extremely well to make the whole narrative come together at the end. My brain hurt trying to figure it out and in the end, I gave up trying and just enjoyed the ride!

I did feel that Ella was a bit of a closed book. I couldn’t gain much personality or depth to her, but that may actually fit with her personality. In one section she realises she doesn’t give as much as others do, which causes a relationship to break down. Besides her love of animals, I can’t say much more about her, which is a bit of a shame as I do like to feel more connection to the protagonist.

Despite this, I still found this story to be memorable and outstanding, engaging, and unique. One I will be thinking about for a long time to come.

A police constable and several others gets stuck at a party at a cliff-top mansion. The next morning they discover that the billionaire owner is dead in a locked room and she investigates. Then her efforts are unwound through a time rewinding device. This was an intriguing if confusing mystery, but I liked how it added in elements of fantasy and history to tell a different kind of tale.

I had no idea what to expect from such a book, but truly it did ending up touching all my "buttons" as it is a thriller / detective "who dun it" / with some fantasy thrown in, plus a touch of history too. All my favourites.

So the scifi tech that is at the core of the book is quite interesting, though something of it also did remind me to Rimmer in Red Swarf. But it spoke of a reasonable future that we could be heading towards, and the uses of the tech. Though the research for such is shown and does the writer credit.

The fantasy part of the book was intriguing, the time skipping, and placing it as a ritual of the indigenous peoples of the area. Plus against the back drop of the North Pacific, it was quite atmospheric.

The writing style was smooth, easy to get into and truly once I had let myself slip into it, I found I could not put it down. A fun book to get into.

A party is in full swing at Black Lake Manor when a storm hits and cuts everyone off from the outside world. The following morning the guests discover that a murder has taken place in a locked room. Ella is tasked with finding the killer – yet it soon becomes apparent that someone is rewinding time and interfering with the investigation.

This is so much more than a locked room mystery. Guy Morpuss has put together such a brilliant story, it is incredibly clever and flawlessly written.

While there is a lot going on, jumping between the past and present, it is all drawn together so well that you feel completely immersed in the story. There were so many times where I found myself holding my breath during some really tense moments.

A wonderfully entertaining read, highly recommended.

This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I enjoyed tis book it was well written with a compelling storyline that was over several different timelines which was tricky at first but once I got used to it I didn't mind so much. It was slow burning at first but built in pacing as tension increased.

This was a very complicated and confusing book. I could easily have given up earlier but I persevered in order to review it. I’m afraid it just didn’t grip me at all.

I was so thrilled to receive this arc from the publisher and couldn’t wait to start it but I did find it quite a challenge. The story starts off quite slow and with different timelines and I have to admit to being quite confused as to what exactly was going on but as the book progressed things began to fall into place and as the pace of the read increased things became much clearer. I think when you pick up a book by Guy Morpuss you know it’s not going to an easy ride but it is going to be a very different ride and that is exactly how I would describe this latest one.
I’m not going to try and say more I would just say go for it it’s one hell of a wild ride that takes some following but it’s also extremely unique, clever and enjoyable.
My thanks to NetGalley and Serpent’s Tail / Viper / Profile Books for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Rounding up to three stars

I personally didn't get on so well with this book.
The beginning left me a bit lost as to who and why, and I don't think I ever really got into the book after that.
It had enough elements, and enjoyable writing to keep me going to the end.
A complicated story of loyalty, greed and time travel of sorts.
I wish I'd liked it as much as I expected to.