There are some books that make me select them just by the covers. That was how I discovered Lars Kepler and became a fan. Mostly such selections that I make just based on covers do work out :) I selected this book for reading after seeing the book cover of an isolated hotel. I always have a fascination for places or hotels or homes which get isolated and people stuck in such situations. And hence the read.
Elin Warner, a London city police officer on extended leave visits La Sommet; a luxury hotel high up in the Alps with her boyfriend. Her brother is getting engaged there. She is haunted by her inner demons which are heavily undermining her. This hotel has an infamous history- this was a sanatorium for TB patients once upon a time. The hotel is designed to capitalize on this history. Random people start disappearing and the body count increases. Someone is behind all these and all does not seem fine in this hotel as it seems. Her brother's fiancee Laure goes missing at one point in time and murders keep occurring. The police are unable to reach the spot due to an avalanche situation. It is up to Elin to reach the bottom of the mystery and save her before time runs out. How Elin fights her shortcomings and gets to the culprit forms the remaining part.
The premise seems very promising and that too coming from a debut writer. This is one such scenario that gives us lots of promise as a reader. But the story fails to maintain the tempo of the genre. The book starts at a point and lingers too much for most of the first half thereby dragging the story with it. For the story to catch up to you, it takes almost 50% to be over. The lady plagued by her inner demons and conflicts and fighting all odds to win the situation is a good story. But lingering more on the inner demons really tests our patience. Too much stagnation happens as the writer tries to project how much difficulty or confusion Elin is facing. But that does make us lose belief in Elin. Till some point, it was like everything she deduces is a dud. Having said this, after crossing the halfway mark the story does pick up well and keeps us engaged. The flow falters towards the climax due to the drag, Few twists seemed squeezed in just for the sake of it. This drag hampers the flashback portion which was good otherwise. I feel that 20 - 30 pages lesser would have made the book crispier and more gripping. Coming to the characters; most of them are painted out well. There is a certain level of greyness inside everyone that does keep us thinking about the culprit. The chemistry between Elin and her brother and Elin and her boyfriend is well put on paper. I really liked the fact that most men were not shown in a negative shade just because the protagonist is a female. There are cases of abuse the women face in the story. But then there is Elin's brother and the boyfriend who supports her and takes the heat whenever she is not in her right mind.
As I pointed out earlier, a great premise. Thanks to The Shining & The Haunting of Hill House; I always get intrigued whenever a solitary building or place takes center stage in the story. A little more trimmer could have boosted the book very much. But coming from a debut writer, this is a good attempt and readable for one time.
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