While the premise of this book is good, the execution is somewhat clumsy. The story jumps from the present day to 15 years previously then 10 years. The story becomes long and convaluted , going from the actual story of the murder to te backstory of our main character - a writer and his publisher, really it feels like 2 books in one, and as the book continues so does the jumping around the timeline, though it makes more sense at the end of the book, the author wraps the story very nicely with one last twist at the end

It was very hard to get into the flow of this story, at first and I found the characters a little two dimensional but I still really liked them. I wasn't sure how to rate this book because I neither loved nor hated it. It just was.

The timeline in this book is non linear which makes for a confusing read. The characters make some odd decisions and I couldn’t warm to them. This book is far too long.

Did my best with this one, especially as it has garnered some very positive reviews, but in the end had to admit defeat. I simply wasn’t interested in the characters or the plot, nor with all those twists and turns, and I found the meta-narrative conceit so hackneyed. Managed about a third then realised it wasn’t going to get any better. Too verbose, too long and basically too dull. An unsolved murder that I’m happy to leave that way.

Another great read from this author. This is the third novel of his I’ve read and my favourite thus far. Twists and turns which kept me guessing until the end. This isn’t your generic mystery - there is a mix of genres. It can take a while to get going, but persevere! The payoff is worth it.

This book was amazingly interwoven and a beautiful exploration into human relationships.

This book was nothing like I expected it to be as these relationships took the forefront over the murder but I couldn't stop reading it.

The characters are all complex and lovable in there own way and we're perfectly distinct.

I would 100% recommend this book to an avid reader who can spare the time for this book. It is one you need to sit and enjoy in long sessions to really get a feel and grip of rhe story. I would maybe not recommend this book to new readers.

Autumn was also a perfect pair to read and feel the emotions of the text.

I found reading it was a bit of a hard slog and although it get better it took me longer than I anticipated to finish. Probably not one to be read sitting by the pool, more for a dark and stormy night in front of the fire.

Thanks to Netgalley and to Quercus Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.
What can I tell you about this book? I kept thinking of different accolades and even genres as I read: jigsaw puzzle, with elements of the classic mystery with an amateur (a couple) investigator, a farce (full of confusion, characters who pretend to be something/somebody they are not, pretences, hidden objects, false clues, fake identities, cheating...), a spy novel, a book set in the world of private banking and high finances, a story of thwarted love and difficult family relationships, an autobiographical book about the author and an homage to his recently deceased editor (Bernard de Fallois), a metafictional exercise about an author writing a book about a mystery (an author called Joël who has recently lost his editor and wants to write a book about him but ends up writing... something else).
This is, as is always the case with Dicker’s novels, a long book, and it jumps backward and forward in time, from the present (2018) to the time of the mystery (15 years prior) and forward and backward between those two timelines. Those who prefer straightforward narratives that follow a chronological order and are not too demanding of our attention should not attempt this book. Although the time frames are clearly indicated every time they change, any distraction could easily cause confusion. It is true that the information is rehashed and revised a number of times, because the investigators (the author called Joël and Scarlett, a woman he meets during his holiday who insists on trying his theory about writing and what would work as a good plot for a story) keep reaching cul-de-sacs and having to dismiss all the clues and suspects they had been working on, so there are options to catch up if you have forgotten any small details. In spite of that, this is one of those books that should not be read over long stretches of time, as I suspect it could become increasingly frustrating, and either it will grab your attention and keep you reading or it won’t, from pretty early on.
For those who prefer their mysteries very tight, with no loose threads and totally realistic, this novel might not work either. It does require a huge dose of suspension of disbelief (this might depend on your interpretation of the overall narrative, but I’m speaking in general terms here, and sorry, but I cannot clarify matters without toppling the house of cards), and you need to be happy to follow the characters (and there are quite a few of those, whose points of view we are offered, always in the third person apart from Joël’s, who writes in the first person) wherever they want to take you without questioning too much how plausible it all is, otherwise, you will not be able to enjoy the experience, because you will get pushed out of the story (the stories) and will no longer care what the answer to the many questions might be. So yes, you need to be happy to be taken for a ride. And quite a ride this is.
For all the reasons above, I will not try to discuss in too much detail either the plot or the characters. Let’s say that I appreciated, most of all, the comments about writing and the reflections about the nature of fiction, the homage to the editor (who might be a character in this novel but who also had a counterpart in real life), and although I kept shaking my head at the twist on twist on twist, I admire the author for daring to (try to) pull such a literary trick out of his hat, and I am sure a couple of the characters of the novel (who are skilled performers themselves) would clap admiringly at his prowess.
I am not going to reveal the ending, but you will probably imagine, by now, that the author couldn’t leave without a final twist. Did I see the twist coming? Well, which one of the many there are in the novel? I kept thinking about other books I have read about writers at work, and I must admit this is one of the most entertaining ones I have come across, and it did keep me thinking and wondering till the very end, even if at times I thought Dicker had gone too far. If you want your characters squeaky clean, nice, totally realistic, and consistent, I advise you not to read this book. Otherwise, there are no major warnings required other than the cautions I’ve shared about the way the story is written and personal preferences.
A random fact I had to mention: there is a character called Olga, and although she is not a nice person by any stretch of the imagination, she does the right thing in the end. So, I won’t take offence at the use the author makes of my name.
The other comment I’ll add is that there is a fabulous note written by the translator as part of the backmatter that illustrates beautifully the process of translating a text, especially one as complex as this novel. I also like his description of the book:
And in this way, the novel turns in upon itself, like the ever circling spirals of a gastropod shell.
The author inside of the story explains that rather than describing a series of facts, a plot should ask a question or a series of questions. And on that front, you can hardly do better than this novel. If you are happy to give it time, don’t mind books playing tricks on you, and enjoy the challenge, give it a go. It might drive you mad, but it is likely to keep you entertained and make you smile in wonder.

this book was super boring.

the characters were annoying and flat.

all the twists and turns were not necessary at all. like. so much was on the page but all that was needed was just one sentence

Another incredibly clever mystery. The opening takes time to settle into and you begin to question why you’re being given everything in such minute detail but when things start to come together you find yourself completely hooked and unable the put down the book. Once again we have the blending of fiction and fantasy as the author becomes a character and you question what is real and what isn’t.

I really wanted to like this book as I keep seeing it everywhere but sadly I did not gel with the characters and ended up not finishing it which is very unlike me.

Thank you for the arc.

This had all the promise of a great book but it was just a little bit too long. One more edit and I think this would have been a great book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

If you love so much a good thriller as I do, this book is for YOU!
Full of mystery stuff and a good character is developed.
You need to read this one in fall or winter, this book scream for your reading and attention.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This book had good potential but I found it a little overly complicated. I kept reading to the end but didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected to.

⭐ -- The cover is very cool on this one!!

I threw in the towel on this one at about 30%. Unfortunately it just wasn't holding my attention, and life is too short to spend it trying to finish books that are not working. 🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

An unsolved murder in a hotel sounds like the perfect premise of a novel. Couple it with Joël Dicker, Switzerland's most famous literary star and a wonderfully intricate plot and this is the perfect read for thriller lovers who like their novels complicated and forensically plotted.

Rating: 2.5 stars.

I found this book too long and a little too convoluted. I enjoy a thriller, particularly one that you can't easy figure out, but the twists here were just too contrived for my taste. I read through to the end, as I needed closure, but the pace is rather slow and I didn't warm to the characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this, The Enigma of Room 622’ written by Joël Dicker. and translated from French by Robert Bononno.

I really enjoyed this a lot more than I expected, and my one word to describe this is just "wow!". There are many twists in this story, that I find hard to explain without giving away the ending.

Joël Dicker is staying at the Hotel Verbier, in the Swiss Alps, there he begins to write his next novel as well as to get over a bad breakup and mourn the death of Bernard, his longtime publisher. After being shown to his room, 623, he finds himself fascinated with the room sequence of 620, 621, 621a, and 623. His questions are evaded when asked about why this has happened.

He later meets Scarlett Leonas, another guest at the hotel, and she joins him on his quest to uncover the truth about room 622, which leads them to an unsolved murder.

It is from around this point that the story jumps between Joël, and flashbacks and further flashbacks of the events that lead up to the murder.

If you enjoy mystery thrillers with a twist, this is a must read.

With 12 million books sold worldwide, Swiss author Joël Dicker is a global success and one of the most popular authors in the French-speaking world. His road to fame began in 2010 when he was awarded the Geneva Writers’ Prize for unpublished manuscripts, and Parisian editor Bernard de Fallois purchased the rights to publish his winning submission. A few months later, de Fallois released the book that made Dicker famous, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, which in turn became a film. Bernard de Fallois died in 2018, and with The Enigma of Room 622 Dicker pays homage to his publisher, mentor and friend.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2022/10/11/the-enigma-of-room-622-joel-dicker/ and https://crimefictionlover.com/2022/10/the-enigma-of-room-622-by-joel-dicker/

A highly original crime fiction! This novel starts off with an author within the story who is struggling to write a novel, and this character has the same name as the actual author; Joël. Joël sets off to a hotel in the Swiss alps, where he comes across a mystery surrounding one of the hotel rooms, where a man was murdered. Another guest of the hotel, a Ms Scarlett Leonas, convinces Joël to help her find out what happened - and to write a book about it. From there, we get into the true heart of the novel - a mystery surrounding a death connected to an important Swiss bank, and the characters of Macaire, Lev, and Anastasia. Macaire is the disinherited son of the president of the bank, married to Anastasia, and Lev is his rival - in more ways than one. In a different strand, Joël and Scarlett investigate at one remove the events that happened many years earlier, to Macaire, Lev and Anastasia. This book is so long and so complicated that it almost takes away from some of the originality and made it slightly arduous, but the incredibly tangled plot is also one of the highlights of the book - there are multiple plot twists and the originality of these twists means that it’s almost impossible to know where it’s going to take you next. For most of the book, infuriatingly, we don’t even know who the murder victim is. Some of the twists towards the end are really fantastic - in particular those relating to the enigmatic banking star, Lev. Glad I read this, it was different!

My thanks to #NetGalley and Quercus Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.