The Enigma of Room
Maclehose Press / Quercus, 2022. Minor dent in lower corner of spine, otherwise very tidy condition.
It all starts with an innocuous curiosity: at the Hotel Verbier, a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps, there is no Room 622.
This anomaly piques the interest of the writer Joël Dicker, Switzerland's most famous literary star, who is staying at the hotel to recover from a bad breakup, mourn the death of his longtime publisher, and begin his next novel. Before he knows it, Joël is coaxed out of his torpor by a fellow guest - Scarlett, a captivating aspiring novelist with a nose for intrigue, who swiftly uncovers the reason behind Room 622's deliberate erasure: an unsolved murder.
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 Macaire learns that the bank's board plan to appoint one Lev Levovitch - Geneva's very own Jay Gatsby - in his place. What seemed a race to the top has just become a race against time . . .
A matryoshka doll of a mystery crafted with the precision of a Swiss watch, The Enigma of Room 622 is a diabolically addictive thriller in which a love triangle and a power struggle - fuelled by envy and betrayal - play out between Geneva and the Alps, as the truth twists and turns into something no reader will see coming.
Translated from the French by Roberto Bononno