Chris McGeorge

This was a lot of fun! It’s set in an alternate timeline where King Eric, one of the progeny of Edward VIII (who didn’t abdicate) is monarch. Eric wants a family Christmas at Balmoral so he dispenses with all the staff except chef and security chief. And of course there is a snowstorm that confines everyone, setting the perfect scene for a locked room murder. The security chief is missing, leaving the chef to investigate. My copy was an audiobook narrated by David George whose delightful show more voice sounds suspiciously like King Charles. I hope to find more by McGeorge. show less

This is a really great debut novel, refreshingly unique in its setting and a brilliant locked room mystery.

I know this phrase is over used and stereotypical but it really did keep me utterly hooked right up to the “What the Hell?” twist at the end!

Five people, one locked and sealed hotel room, a dead body in the bathroom and only three hours for Morgan Sheppard to figure out who the killer is amongst them or they are all going to die, along with everyone else in the hotel, a hotel that show more has been packed with explosives.

It definitely has a Saw type feel to it, only a man in a horses head mask instead of a creepy puppet doling out the instructions of the game. One that sounds fairly simple. How hard can it be with only 4 other living people locked in the room with him?

I was a little skeptical to begin with as to how interesting this would be being the fact it’s all set in one room but if anything that actually added to the book giving it a suffocating, claustrophobic edge to the atmosphere. The book is full of deception, secrets, manipulation and revenge as well as twists and turns throughout the entire book.

Morgan Sheppard is a notoriously famous TV resident detective with his own talk show where the premise of the show is to decide who is telling the truth amongst his chat show guests who have been accused of cheating or similar. A bit like Jerry Springer!

His fame came about at a young age when he solved the murder of his Maths teacher at school and being dubbed as a young Sherlock Holmes. And that is all he wants from life, to be famous (and rich of course!) But he is also an alcoholic, drug addict so he certainly isn’t the run of the mill protagonist, he’s not particularly likeable at times either! He certainly doesn’t want the job of revealing the killer in the room, or having other people’s lives in his hands but the man in the mask is insist that Sheppard must be the one who figures out who the killer is.

It is set in two different time lines, the here and now adult Sheppard and back in the early 1990’s 11 years old Sheppard gives the story room to breathe outside of the hotel room but it is scenes locked in the room that held my interest the most.

Fighting the cravings that are clouding his mind it is a fight against time to find out who the killer is, who is behind the horse’s head and why they have been chosen by whomever is behind the whole thing.

This book is fast paced with twists and turns galore and full of tension and suspense the entire way through.

A great one sitting read that you won’t want to miss! show less

The concept for this book is what drew me towards it. Yeah, it does feel kind of like the Saw movie franchise with a room full of strangers awaking in a room trying to piece together why they are there and what they have in common. Only, there are no traps. However, the main lead, Morgan has to solve the case within three hours or the whole hotel blows up.

Ok, let me tell you that as I got to know the other people in the room, they were alright. Not people that I would want to hang out with show more or were that intrigued about their stories. In fact, I think that the only person that was better off was the dead guy in the bathtub.

The storyline alternates from present to past. Yet, the first couple of times were not very smooth. Whenever the present would come back into play, it seemed that no progress had been made in getting closer to solving the mystery. This is a really slow burn in the pacing of the story to what is supposed to be a big build up. There are some flaws with this book but it does hold some promise. I am curious as to the next book written by this author. show less

The premise of this book captured my imagination immediately. Not a locked room mystery but a closed canal tunnel mystery. The blurb doesn't quite tell all the story as although it is about Matthew McConnell and his five friends, it's also about Robin Ferringham, a man who takes a call from Matthew at his book signing.

Robin has written a book about his missing wife, Sam when the call comes out of the blue. He doesn't know Matthew and can't imagine why he's ringing him but it seems like it show more could be connected to Sam's disappearance. Robin decides to help Matthew, who is in prison accused of making his five friends disappear whilst on a narrowboat in the canal tunnel, the longest one in England. The five, like Robin's wife, have never been found and the only suspect is Matthew as he, and a dog, were the only ones to emerge from the tunnel at the other end.

Intriguing, huh? I have to say, the idea of that tunnel makes me shudder. I don't like tunnels at the best of times but one where people disappear never to be seen again? Crikey! I really enjoyed the start of this book, when Robin begins his investigations and the whole story of what happened on that canal that day is unravelled. Such a clever idea and it really kept me guessing.

I did find some of what went on to happen a bit far-fetched but I know that's how some psychological thrillers have to be to have the clever twists. For me, it lost a little something when it went into the realms of fisticuffs rather than intelligent investigations but again, this is personal taste.

I didn't see the end coming at all. It's both sad and shocking, and I'm not entirely sure I understand the 'whys' but ultimately I raced through this exciting and quite sinister thriller. McGeorge is clearly an author who likes to write gripping and cleverly plotted stories. This is one for readers who like to be challenged and swept along with a fast paced storyline. I enjoyed it. show less