A Key to the Suite

Stark realism distances the reader from the emotional texture of this report of the weekend of a busiess convention. Third person narration emphasises the separation of the reader from the characters while the multiple narrators suggest accurate reportage. The weekend brings together a corporate analyst, salesmen, their managers, promotional models, and prostitutes dissolved in a profusion of libidinous alcohol. When catastrophe strikes the hoteliers and local police implement a polished cover up that is as brutal as any violence. All this is very much of its time (the early 1960s) but I found it more admirable than enjoyable. ( )

JDM is excellent with fallen women, cops, and hotels. In this detailed profile of a hotel's operation, we learn everything we never wanted to now about how a murder is covered up. It's a fast-paced mystery and one of his best. ( )