The Murders in the Endicott Hotel

This was an interesting and fun read. I enjoyed the writing style and the mystery.

Minor editing errors but a good and enjoyable book.

The Murders in the Endicott Hotel is built on an interesting and unique premise, many many murders, and a sharp but believable detective. I really like the thought put into this, and the eventual reveal of the murderer was very smart, but I had just a couple of qualms with the book. Murphy's writing style tends to bluntly describe the events of the story, which on its own is completely fine, but at point where there was only a nameless, genderless person to talk about (e.g. "the killer" or "the poet"), the writing came off as a little repetitive. And generally, I would have been interested to see a little more about the murderer's motive, or maybe a greater discussion of the surgeries and the tension between psychiatry and neuroscience. All in all, this was very entertaining and I was glad to read it! This is a 3.5 for me.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for the opportunity to read this as an eARC!

A very entertaining whodunit in an interesting setting. It’s a locked room mystery, but definitely a hell of a locked room. So many great suspects and possibilities for the killer, when it gets to the end and the reveal I felt a little disappointed that it was so straightforward and such a traditional choice. The ride getting there is definitely fun, though.

Arc review. This comes out Nov 19 2024. I will always enjoy a good murder mystery. I enjoyed the detective throughout this book. So many fun suspects and possibilities it had your gears going the whole time. I highly recommend for any fans of clue and only murders in the building tv show. The plot and characters were fun but I do wish we as the readers learned a little more into the killers motive that is the only thing I really wanted more in this book but other then that this is a 3.5 for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this wonderful arc to review.

I originally read this on Edelweiss but decided to review here as well since it was in the read now section.

The novel has good prose that flows easily but could use some polishing such as using varying descriptions and better explanations for certain scenes so they are easier to visualise.

At it heart the novel raises profound questions about identity and change, particularly whether people can truly reform and become new individuals or remain tethered to their past selves. This idea is explored and clever used by the author to induce tension in the novel by asking whether one of the "former" criminals have resumed their killing ways.

The story also delves into morality, with passages of deep intersection and themes of corporate greed.

Pros:

Unique Premise: The concept of rehabilitated serial killers and the ethical dilemma surrounding their release adds intrigue and originality to the story. This theme parallels real life discussions of rehabilitation of criminals and how strong punishment should be meted out.

Engaging Mystery: The locked-room setup, with a snowed-in hotel, creates an atmosphere of suspense and isolation, very reminiscent of Agatha Christie's snowy atmosphere of The Sittaford Mystry or the Orient Express.

The Detective: Walter Churchfield, the detective, is sharp and provides the necessary grounding in a chaotic situation. The portrayal of a detective is well done.

Twist: The plot twist at the end is very exciting and worth the wait .

Cons:

Repetitive Language: At times, the blunt descriptions become repetitive, like when referring to unknown characters (e.g., "the killer" or "the poet").

Motives: While the twist at the end is very exciting the motive for the murder is very weak. Perhaps more indepth thought into the mind of the killer and what motivated them to do the act is needed, a motive that is compelling enough to drive one to murder.

Possible improvement: The serial killers could have been explored further to highlight their transformation or lack thereof, making the stakes feel more personal. We see very little of their thoughts and feelings regarding the procedures done to them and how those thoughts changed before and after. Whatever we do see is not enough to form strong impressions.

Okay, I know there's been mixed reviews on this one.

There are Alot of moving parts to keep track of, so this isn't something you rave through, but that being said, it was Alot.
And I love having a ton of characters in something like this.
But if they hadn't had them, it wouldn't have worked in my opinion.

This is a slow burn builder type detective mystery.
Some of the language used was a little repetitive, but not enough to stop reading because the actual story itself I loved.

This was a good murder mystery, but could use a little work editing.

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.

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!

The Muders in the Endicott Hotel is so good. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic and the story is an example of originality and creativity.