Set in the snowy Swiss alps, this books journeys between past and present to investigate the murder that took place in Room 622 of a prestigious hotel. Diving between an authors writing to a bankers poor decisions and a busboys upbringing, this is a novel of breadth and scale.

To me, this book had vibes of The Grand Budapest Hotel, but maybe that was just cause it was set in a snowy European hotel. Maybe not though, as there was also something quirky and mesmerising in its storytelling.


I had so much fun listening to this book. There were times when I felt like maybe it was a little too long, and could’ve done with being condensed. However that’s my only qualm with it. I enjoyed the multiple timelines and characters that we followed, and I found the mystery to be intriguing and unusual. It’s a book that sat with me a while after I’d finished it because it was executed very well, and now I’m on the way to investigating more of the authors works.

I really couldn’t get into this book, and it’s a shame as the story has real potential. But I found the narration quite boring and found it really hard to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Audio for letting me listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Joel Dicker novel and struggled a bit with the translation. The plot had potential but found it fell a bit flat.

Thanks for to the publisher and netgalley for this great book.

It was my 4th book I ve read by Joel Dicker and the 4th time I can say it was stunning.

I loved how it has been written. It started with the main character Joel in this book, a writer whose life not always went well. He met Scarlet in the hotel and they are trying to find out why there is no room 622 in that hotel and what happend there in the past.... All characters have been described very well and I liked all of them.

Due to the fantatic scenery in this book I found myself very well into everything. Joel Dicker found a way to build up the story step by step and got more and more exciting. I couldnt put the book down because I wanted to know what will happen.

In total I can say, I liked the book very much and enjoyed every single sentence. I would recommend it to everyone who likes crime/thriller and exciting stories. Its a MUST READ and will get 5* stars!

This is one of the most convoluted and strange books I’ve ever listened to. It’s a story, within a story and then some and it took me a couple of hours to get into the structure and the complexities of the plot. I had to put aside the self references by the author and just take it for a dual time line mystery thriller where past events are revealed alongside a current timeline of investigation.

It’s very well written and I feel the translation into English captures the essence of the original. There’s certainly nothing that jars. It’s quite long winded and for me, I found it an occasional struggle to keep connected. The narration is quite laid back and understated, which is ideal for the pace of the story. It’s thought provoking, wondering how much of the content is author vanity or very clever doublethink. I had one irritation; only the strength of the writing kept me listening. If I were to chose a narrator, the first thing I’d do is ask them to say ‘sixth’. If, as here, it was pronounced ‘sick’, I’d find someone else. Unfortunately it’s referenced quite a few times and it grates. That aside, this is an unusual story and it stretches the listener because it’s challenging. I really enjoyed it and I haven’t deducted a star for the narration.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

The audiobook is really good, I enjoyed the narrator, brill job.
Now the story is quite convoluted and quite confusing the more you get to read it as there's multiple stories intertwined. For me, this book is way too long and it has baffled me quite a bit, but overall the writing was good, the characters quite interesting even if the plot (or plots) were quite hard to get a grasp on.

What a brilliant audio book! it had so many secrets and dark lies it left me reeling, thinking wow what have I just listened to. I loved it.
It's a complex but well written story that certainly keeps you on your toes. I loved the duel time line as it fleshed out exactly what had happened to the characters in the past that made them who they are and shapes their decisions for the present.. This absolutely is a cautionary tell of beware of what you wish for. It just might not be what you thought it would be.. The narrator, Chris Harper is fantastic and brings each character to life. He set the scenes with a level of clarity that just makes the whole book flow! Brilliant.

Narrated by Chris Harper ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This narrator was fantastic!!!

The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker ⭐⭐⭐

This book is HUGE!!
I struggled at first to get my head around what was going on due to so many characters but once I worked out who everyone was it started to flow. I think due to its massive size and amount of characters for me personally I needed to read this so I could go back and forth.

I really enjoyed the story within a story.

This is my first time hearing/trying this author and I would definitely give Joël Dicker another go. There is no question he is a talented writer.

I listened to this as an audio book and I have to say the narrator did a fantastic job, it was a pleasure to listen to.

However I unfortunately did not enjoy the story as much as the narration.

I did not connect with any of the characters, I found the main character to be selfish and actually quite annoying if I am honest. This may have been intentional by the author but at 16 hours it was a struggle.

The story within a story worked well and held my interest on the most part, however, it was very dragged out and would definitely have improved if more concise.

I might be turning into a crabbit (Scottish word) old lady but it bothered me that every romance in the book seemed to involve a married woman.

I will award 3 stars but that is purely for the narration on the audiobpok which was really wonderful.

Does it suggest an inflated ego, to name a main character with your own name, or is it merely a hint at a partially autobiographical story? Whichever the reason, the main character in the present day is Joël, a writer who is staying in a hotel to write a new novel in order to get over the death of his publisher and to grieve for his lost love.

Upon arrival at the hotel, he is taken up to his room, where he notices that on the same corridor, the room 622 does not exist. 622 is not a number prone to superstition, so Joël sets out to discover the truth about the missing room number.

Joël's research is laid out for us to read, as if we were present, witnessing the original events as they unfolded. We follow Anastasia and her two loves, Lev and Macaire as they tangle in and out of each others' lives, disguising the truth at every turn.

The plot is very clever, weaving between the timelines seamlessly and the storyline is interesting enough along the way to entertain as we wait for the super twists at the end. The characters are well-drawn and believable, even the more minor players.

I had the audio arc of this and the narration was superb.

Narration of this book was so good, brought the book alive for me and I easily followed the storyline. It was a long read however the story kept me entertained.

WOW!!!!! Hooked from the first page and read this book in one sitting… Full of tension and suspense. A real page turner, OMG so much more!!!!!

First of all, I must say how much I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book. Listening to spoken word is one way I get through mundane tasks and as such I am prepared at times, to put up with a poor storyline. However, in this case I thoroughly enjoyed the tale and found myself choosing to do some simple tasks so that I could justify listening to more!
As with other reviews I refuse to outline the plot as I think the blurb writers do a better job without giving anything away. The story has many twists and fun (although unrealistic) characters. It is told in different time lines, as so many books seem to be recently, so you need to keep your whit’s about you to catch all the plots unfolding. This book would make a great film, possibly slightly witty in nature, although the writing is not comedic.
The narrator was just right for the book and I would look out for his work plus other writing by Joel in the future. Highly recommended!

Clever and interesting mystery/thriller centred around the missing room 622 of a hotel. Keeps you on your toes and enjoyable.

The genius of Joël Dicker never fails to amaze me, this story has many characteristics in common to Harry Quebert and I have found again the element of surprise that makes his books just incredible (even if I found the culprit, it always makes me feel proud 😂).

The story is written as if it really happened to Joël and that made me create a connection with the writer I didn’t feel possible. It also contains many real elements like the reference to HQ and the tv series based on the book. I also guess (but haven’t checked) the references to his editor are real and this is such a beautiful way to commemorate his memory.

The characters are really terrible (in an affectionate way of course), I mean none of them is morally correct and you really can’t say they are good people, but in spite of everything you find yourself feeling bad for them and wishing them a happy ending. Lev is such a peculiar and charismatic character, I feel that if I had met him in person I would have been entranced (and he would have been very proud). He made me think of the poet Keats when he says that his love will be eternal because it’ll never be fully fulfilled and it’ll just live in his mind. In the same way Lev loves the idea of love more than the love itself, hating the idea of routine, but real love is the one that is able to survive when things are not exiting because they are new, but because they are authentic.

It’s quite a long book and very intricate but in spite of that it’s very easy to follow because we accompany the investigation of the writer step by step and the plot is really original, even if a little unrealistic.

I had the pleasure to listen to the audiobook thanks to NetGalley and I really loved the French accent of the narrator, given Joël is French I guess it made me feel as if the story was really told by himself.

I listened to a couple of chapters of the audiobook before coming to the conclusion that this really wasn't for me. I didn't like the style, which seemed overly verbose, and I didn't like the main character either. Looking at the run time of the audiobook, I figured I didn't want to devote sixteen hours of my life to it.

3.5/5

I haven’t read a book before where the author themselves is a character in the story - that was one of the things that drew me to this story.

I loved the murder mystery in this story, and how it is the author himself ‘writing’ and uncovering the secrets of the past.

I did find the story on the long side and it did take me a while to get into it, but after the halfway-mark, the story really gets rolling as more and more secrets are uncovered.

I recommend if you’re interested in a murder mystery thriller with suspense.

After reading several 'meta' novels featuring the author as a character within the story (including Anthony Horowitz andJoseph Knox, both doing interesting and quite different things) I was interested in The Enigma of Room 622 - even if I wasn't as familiar with Joel Dicker, other than having read 'The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair'.
I found this one a hard to get into listen - and at 16 hours, it's not a short one. How much was down to the narrator, how much was the translation, and how much was the novel itself, I'm still trying to decide.
Described as 'A Russian doll of a mystery crafted with the precision of a Swiss watch' by the publishers, I half agree. It was a multi layered thing, and written (or read) with a number of twists and turns...some of which felt a little Deus ex like..
I know there are many, many fans of TTAtHQA, and I'm sure this will appeal to many, too. For me, I was hoping for a little more of the 'author within the story' element, which was one of the more interesting, but under utilised elements of the tale.
Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the opportunity to hear this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.

Synopsis

"One night in December, a corpse is found in Room 622 of the Hotel Verbier, a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps. A police investigation begins without definite end, and public interest wanes with the passage of time. Years later, the writer Joel Dicker, Switzerland's most famous literary ingenue, arrives at that same hotel to recover from a bad breakup, mourn the death of his longtime publisher, and begin his next novel. Little does Joel know that his expertise in the art of the thriller will come in handy when he finds himself investigating the crime. He'll need a Watson, of course: in this case, that would be Scarlett, the beautiful guest and aspiring novelist from the next room, who joins in the search while he tries to solve another puzzle: the plot of his next book. 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 it doesn't. The bank's board, including a certain Lev Levovitch-Geneva's very own Jay Gatsby-have other plans, and Macaire's race to the top soon becomes a race against time... A matryoshka doll of a mystery built with the precision of a Swiss watch. Joel Dicker presents a diabolically addictive thriller where a love triangle, a power struggle, shocking betrayals and dangerous envy play out against the backdrop of a not so quiet Switzerland, where the truth twists and turns into something no reader will see coming. A European phenomenon, Dicker's latest page-turner is his most personal novel yet"

I can’t lie. This was long, longer than it needed to be and in all honesty it felt like a bit of a slog. The author casts himself as the protagonist which in theory was a brilliant idea. The story itself is quite unbelievable at times, and I read another book alongside it to break it up a little as there seems to be a few twists to the narrative that I genuinely couldn’t fathom. However, I feel this is more personal preference than any specific fault (there are no major flaws 3 stars rounded up!

What a fantastic book! I was gripped since the first page and could not stop listening. The best book I've read in a long while, could not recommend this one highly enough.
Thanks for the opportunity to access this audio ARC.