A lot going on and even more to keep up with. Just about the time I’m ready to draw attention to a hole in the theory, the story folds once more and says “gotcha”. ( )

Una noche de diciembre, un cadáver yace en el suelo de la habitación 622 del Palace de Verbier, un hotel de lujo en los Alpes suizos. La investigación policial no llegará nunca a término y el paso del tiempo hará que muchos olviden lo sucedido. Años más tarde, el escritor Joël Dicker llega a ese mismo hotel para recuperarse de una ruptura sentimental. No se imagina que terminará investigando el viejo crimen, y no lo hará sólo: Scarlett, la bella huésped y aspirante a novelista de la habitación contigua, lo acompañará en la búsqueda mientras intenta aprender también las claves para escribir un buen libro.

On the trail of an unsolved crime

This is one long journey that cannot be read quickly. This massive page-turner of 577 pages is a prolonged teasing of us the reader. So be patient this story is filled with humour, unrequested love said in a clever and intriguing way. This is the story of an amateur sleuth investigating a murder while writing a book on his discoveries.

It starts when an author named Joel retreats to a Swiss Alps luxury hotel to restore after personal traumas: the death of his mentor and being snubbed by the woman he was drawn to. At the hotel he is assigned to room 623. Looking for his room he noticed that on the 6th floor the number go from 621, 621A, 623. Where is Room 622? Curiosity got the better of him thus the start of this wonderful and captivating story.

This story has multiple layers but I found it to be easy to follow even with its frenzy switching back and forth between the past and the present. By the end I thought this to give a touch of burlesque to the experience. But I assure you, once into the beat of the story I was totally hooked. The author is so adept with his sleight of hand; concealing essential facts from us for instance we are deep into the novel before we find out who was murdered and finding out the murderer took close to 577 pages to discover.

This novel is one that oscillates between suspense and vaudeville, mixing bank embezzlement and amorous intrigues without exits. What could be more Swiss than a group of bankers or a fallen Russian aristocrat who seeks to marry her daughters to one of them? “The Enigma of Room 622”, is a completely addictive novel that winks at the banking world, plays on several levels and pays tribute to its publisher, Bernard de Fallois, deceased in 2028 in Paris.

I loved every moment reading this book ( )

The plot of this novel is so complicated and convoluted that I'd need a couple hundred pages just to write it all out. And since this book is only 600 pages total, that means there isn't much in there besides the plot. The characters are static and uninteresting. The twists are so numerous that you end up with twists upon twists. The final twist, sadly, was obvious to anybody paying attention. I saw that one coming from very early on. Don't uncover this spoiler unless you really want a clue: Perhaps we Americans have the advantage because 622 to us could easily mean June 22, where in Europe they switch that around and June 22 would be written as 226. Also June 22 is my birthday so the number kind of stands out to me whenever I see it. I won't lie, it's the reason I picked this book up off the shelf in the bookstore in the first place.

Despite all that, its was a fun read. I thought I was going to get lost with all of the characters and how the narrative kept jumping around in time, but I managed to hang in there and I don't think anything was lost along the way. I'm glad I read it, but I can't say I will be recommending it to anybody. ( )

Too hard to describe the convoluted plot to. Yes, it kept my interest, but also yes, it was a difficult book to follow. The time line is all over the place, jumping back and forth from the past to the present. Writer Joel arrives at the Hotel de Verbier to discover an unsolved murder occurred in room 622 years before. This leads to a complicated and convoluted love triangle between Macaire Ebezner, heir to a private Swiss bank, Lev Levovitch, pauper and brilliant man on every level and the woman they both love, Anastasia.

Quite frankly, I am certain some of the timeline is a mess, but there are some interesting surprises. ( )