The writing could to good with a little bit of editing but the premise was fun and innovative. I would like the author to have a little more faith in his readers to actually not describe everything very bluntly. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

2 1/2 stars. This was a mixed bag for me. The premise is very interesting: Five serial killers have undergone surgery which expert claim have so changed the person they are no longer who they once were and as a result have been released from prison. Now, the convicted serial killers, VIPs of the company responsible for the medical procedure, and PR people are flown to a luxurious but isolated hotel where they become stranded during a snowstorm and the killings begin... Is it one of the serial killers or someone new?

I love a murder story set with a group isolated in a snow storm. A classic and there is so much potential there. This story takes advantage of some of that. And I like the former detective who takes over to establish some order during the chaos. There is good tension as the danger torques up. However, there is also too many characters that are not distinguishable from each other, repetitive phrases, being told things instead of shown them through the narrative, and editing problems.

In conclusion, I have conflicting feelings about this. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

this was bad. like, bad-bad. i kept giving the author the benefit of the doubt and they didn’t deserve it. there is a character, gia ho, who is described to dress like a woman but uses he/him pronouns (they said this in the first paragraph they spoke). however, it is clear that they feel like a woman and are a woman, but the ‘man in their head’ tells them they’re a man. so two things going on: someone who is a transgender female and has a dissociative disorder. it is never said she has a dissociative disorder, just that she has a man in her head, which is a red flag already. she is also exclusively referred to with he/him pronouns. i was ready to call this just a mistake and the author just didn’t do enough research. but. (i am spoiling these only for other readers. ) <spoiler>she is the killer the whole time. so essentially the author is using her dissociative disorder and her being trans as a scare tactic, like so many others do. and it’s a cop out, one of the serial killers being the killer? really? for fucks sake. </spoiler> this author clearly did 0 research on what he was creating these characters to be. seriously, it’s not hard for one of the multiple psychiatric / neurological doctors to mention the words ‘dissociative disorder’ is it? nor should it be hard to not treat trans characters like monsters

This had such a great premise. 5 serial killers who have supposedly been "cured" are brought to a remote hotel in Alaska and people start dying. I found most of it very fun to read. The best thing about a locked room mystery is that there are limited suspects. This one had a large number of people staying at this hotel, which has its own problems with the locals. There is no really good reason for them to be there as opposed to a million other places, but this is how we get the locked room! So, I loved the campiness of it. I love that the original victim is so easy to dislike that your like, "Yeah, that's a good person to die." Churchfield is a little flatly written and could use a good edit. The whole thing gets a little repetitive. It is full of action, though. Take a day. It was fun.

It's unfortunate the book declined towards the end, or it would have been a 5-star. I actually really enjoyed it up until then. While it's a cosy murder-mystery, the premise and setup hyped me up from the very beginning, but let me down towards the end. I think the biggest disappointment is that amongst the 20+ characters/suspects that I was able to keep track of, I expected there to be a much more satisfying conclusion to the murderer, given all the intermingling and convincing motives. To have such a simplified conclusion seemed redundant. The numbers could have been edited in this case. There was also some unnecessary transphobic sentiment that didn't fare well. I think if the book concentrated more on each personality, their background, their thoughts and motives, and less on discussions on "who's the killer?" It may have felt more rounded and intelligent. I also saw faults in some of Churchfield's decisions (oftentimes Churchill?) - in that he should have held a vigil from the beginning. He should have searched and stripped every room for evidence from the beginning. Not later on after several murders. Instead, he left the situation go out of control, he let people do as they wish. And people be stupid, they be soaking in the hot tub alone at night.. or taking solitary swims in the pool. Or proposing to each other during a murder investigation while everyone is terrified??? What?? Unlikely behaviours.

Anyway it's 4 stars because I loved the setup, the characters overall, the atmosphere, the psychoanalysis and political tensions.

The author presents us with an interesting story, which mixes the whodunnit style with the locked room and weaves a social dilemma: is it possible to rehabilitate a serial killer to reintegrate him into society as a productive member?
A major pharmaceutical company develops a protocol to rehabilitate serial killers that includes amygdala ablation and psychological support. This procedure was applied to five serial killers.
To celebrate the success of the protocol and make it known to the world, the company organizes a meeting/press conference in an isolated and remote hotel in Alaska. Just as the conference is about to begin, the president of the company, Daniel Larch, is poisoned.
From that moment on, a series of murders begins and questions abound: who did it? Was it one of the killers? Who will be next? And the readers ask ourselves: how will this story end?
The premise is very interesting, but it becomes a bit repetitive. There are too many characters and not all of them are well developed, which makes it difficult to identify with any of them. But, anyway, a good story to pass the time.
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book

This mystery has a good story with 5 serial killers apparently recovered isolated in a hotel with other people but unfortunately the characterization of some characters borders on the offensive

Furthermore, the novel needs some editing

Sadly I couldn't enjoy the mystery with so many not so subtle prejudices from the author, unconscious or not

Thanks to the publisher for making it available on NetGalley

This is a really cool concept and it has great potential, but it feels like it needs a hard edit or two before it is ready for prime time... The writing is, as others have noted, very repetitive and at times feels very simplistic particularly for the high-concept story that wants to be told. There are a lot of characters and not a lot of distinguishing characteristics to them, and keeping everyone straight was a bit more work than I wanted it to be.

There are some really great thought-provoking ideas here, but I felt like they were getting lost in the endless factual statements rather than descriptive ones. This wasn't a great fit for me unfortunately - I struggled to stay engaged almost from the beginning.

So this book started off a little confusing, the prologue was interesting. It did all end up making sense, the quotes of famous poets and all. There were many people and many stories to follow along but it made sense by the end.
I enjoyed the mystery and the amount of suspects and progression of the killer in the book. By the 5th kill I had a good idea but the twists had me second guessing. I enjoyed this book and the epilogue was nice closure.
Thank you NetGalley, the Author and the Publisher Dreameyrie for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this locked room murder mystery, a murderer is on the loose. The question is whether it is one of the five, hopefully, reformed serial killers or one of the other guests who have come for the press event.

I thought the premise of this story was pretty well done and the story presents a large cast of characters which are available as victims and as suspects. I will say most of them are pretty unlikeable so I guess I wasn't mad that a lot of them met their end.

The scene opens as we learn a biomedical company believes they have "cured" five serial killers by performing a specific surgery to alter their personalities. The Press event is to celebrate the rehabilitation of these individuals and their release back into society. However, as the press release gets started, Daniel Larch, the CEO, begins his speech but falls out dead in front of the group. Though it could have been a health issue, the group believes it was poisoning. As the story continues, more and more people meet their end in more and more gruesome ways.

All in all, not a bad murder mystery though I would say the cast of characters is a bit too large and I found the premise to be a bit flimsy. I would have loved to offer suggestions and help iron out a few of the weaker spots but I was entertained.

A group of serial killers gets a new kind of Lobotomy from a big pharmaceutical corporation. They are put into a hotel with the CEO and his family, handful of social media people/news, a senator, and psychologists. Before they had to the hotel for the PR tour the CEO is caught having an affair with his attorney. All hell breaks loose at the hotel when murders keep happening.

This book is like Clue in the Cecil Hotel duringAmerican Horror Story. It was ok! The scene with the CEO and his attorney then the other with the Murderer and his gun were honestly just uncomfortable to read. It was weird and really didn't fit into the ambiance of the book that the author established for the hotel. Also, the book tended to drag. It was already a shorter book, but it was hard to keep my attention.

Thanks to Dreameyrie and Netgalley for this ARC. This is not the usual type of book i read but thought i'd give it a go. I thought i was really good until the end. I was very disappointed in who the killer was and felt the ending had been rushed.

The Murders in the Endicott Hotel follows 5 reformed serial killers that have received amydalotomies (removal of the amygdala) in order to cure their want/need to kill again. When a biomedical company celebrates hiring a private hotel in remote Alaska, things quickly start going wrong. Murders begin to happen, and it is left to ex-detective Churchfield to solve the cases that begin piling up. This gives Thriller, Isolation, and Anxiety within its riveting pages.

As someone who typically does not enjoy murder mysteries, I found myself riveted and engaged until the very end of these pages. The writing style was methodical, and the execution was incredible. The clues are there for people to solve the crimes. But they are done in a way that isn’t obvious until it is revealed. I enjoyed the pacing of this book. While it explained things very well, it was also snappy and to-the-point. I did not feel that the book was either too long or too short.
Furthermore, the editing was very well done, aside from a couple of spelling errors and repeating phrases. There were a lot of repeating phrases that I thought didn’t need to be there. For example: ‘The killer (did this). The killer (did that).”

While the book was listed as a horror, I would consider it square in the Murder Mystery category. It followed the structure of a mystery and, while there were some moments that depicted a horrific scene, the overall writing and execution of the book was not a horror.

I would highly recommend this book to be picked up by anyone that enjoys mystery, or would like to explore the mystery genre. Likewise I think this book would be perfect for those that enjoy detective fiction.

I very much enjoyed my time reading this book. I was engaged, interested, and trying to play detective myself through the pages! I guessed the killer fairly early on in the story, but the way the clues were handed to Churchfield and how he solved them was done brilliantly. For these reasons I have given this a 4.25 star rating!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreameyrie for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book. All opinions are my own.

“… we may never know how much we can change the character that we were born with, or the influences left upon us by the ways that we were raised.”
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There are plenty of mixed reviews on this one but I had tons of fun! The Murders in the Endicott Hotel by David Murphy is both a classic whodunit along the veins of Hercule Poirot as well as a fun foray into what makes us who we are. All in all, this book is downright fun and engaging, and totally worth checking out if you’re interested in claustrophobic settings, political manipulation, and murder!
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Pros: The plot was engaging and the theme was extremely interesting. The question of what creates a monster is a tough one to answer, and I enjoyed that this book didn’t try to. As much as the “normal” characters wanted to claim that they had the answers, we still have so much to learn about the human mind, and many characters found out the hard way!
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Cons: I found some of the characterization to be a bit inauthentic and a bit cartoon-y which took me out of some of the scenes. Gia’s character especially felt a bit over-characterized and honestly a bit hard to read. I also felt that with so many characters and relationships, it was extremely hard to connect with any of them.
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3.5/5 ☠️ – A fun, slightly gory, mystery that kept me guessing until the final bloody end!

This book presents a fascinating premise—a modernized "whodunnit" mystery, blending elements of a locked-room thriller with the ethical dilemmas of rehabilitated serial killers. Set in a luxurious, remote hotel in Alaska, the story follows five "cured" serial killers who are released as part of a billionaire's experiment, only to face a new murder mystery. While the idea is intriguing, the execution leaves something to be desired.

The pros of this novel include its unique premise. The concept of rehabilitated killers trying to reenter society is fresh, and the tension around whether one of them has resumed their dark ways keeps the reader engaged. This setup taps into deeper questions about identity, morality, and whether people can truly change, making the stakes feel personal and relevant to modern discussions around criminal rehabilitation.

Additionally, the locked-room mystery in a snowed-in hotel creates the perfect backdrop for suspense. The atmosphere is thick with isolation and paranoia, reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s best-known works. The detective, Walter Churchfield, provides the grounding needed to navigate the chaos of the unfolding murders. There’s also a plot twist toward the end that injects excitement and rewards readers’ patience.

However, the book has its cons. One major issue is the repetitive language. Descriptions often feel blunt and repetitive, detracting from the overall flow. Similarly, the motive for the murder is underdeveloped, lacking the depth that could make the twist feel more meaningful. There’s an opportunity for more exploration of the serial killers’ inner transformations, which feels missed. The ethical dilemmas are interesting, but the characters themselves could have been fleshed out more to heighten the drama.

In terms of writing, there are times when the book could benefit from tighter editing. Repetitions and awkward phrasing slow down the otherwise intriguing narrative, particularly in the epilogue, which feels out of place and unnecessary.

This was a fun semi-cozy mystery read! A modernized version of "whodunnit" game of clue. We start with five "cured" serial killers being freed from their life sentence with the help of billionaire Daniel Larch, who is conducting a event to celebrate the push of his miraculous drug in a remote luxurious hotel in Alaska.

The characters were good, the development and story was good and promising, but could see "whodunnit " from the beginning personally, although a couple times had me double guessing. There was romance, betrayal, poetry, murders and a little bit of cliche, but still fun.

Overall it was fun read, and I believe others will enjoy this if they enjoy cozy mysteries. I give it a 3.75☆

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book!

I was really excited to start this book, the premise, the title, the cover, were everything I was wanting to read. Unfortunately, the story itself was lacking and disappointing.

The characters were VERY similar and it was hard to keep them apart. Their killings were so similar it might as well have been only one person doing the killing. There was also very little regard for the evidence that was being presented. Something that was important was presented, and never spoken about again until the VERY end. I know mysteries sometimes do that but this one was just annoying with it.

I think the plot of this story was good and the premise. However, I found I hard to keep track of who was who and what was going on the more I read.

While this was an interesting story that started off very well, it became a mess. There was a lot of jumping around between characters with little regard for evidence or actual plot, and the writing just went everywhere and was repetitive at times. This could be a solid read with some more edits and maybe some reworking of some chapters.

Minor errors that needed to be edited but, it is an enjoyable murder mystery that is perfect for the fall weather