Hotel Paradise

Every time I read this book, I love it a little bit more. Grimes' 12-year-old protagonist, whose name we do not learn until the last chapter, investigates the local mystery of the death by drowning of another 12-year-old girl 40 years ago. She traverses the area around her small Appalachian town of Spirit Lake, speaks to interesting people, and describes her adventures in a way that is both poetic and true to her age. In fact, one of the most remarkable things about the book is the voice of its narrator. She is at once wise beyond her years, immature, and precocious. She admits she is not privy to information about sex, the proper names of flora and fauna, or the seemingly contradictory motivations of the grownups around her. However, show more she seems to get on best with people who are much, much older than her and has a way of getting them to talk to her like she is a person instead of just a kid. She muses about herself and what qualities she must have to be able to blend in at some times, and at other times inspire folks to take notice. I just love her, if you can't tell. When I was younger, I used to pretend I was her and try to start conversations with old folks. Unfortunately (for me), she had much more interesting people around to talk to! show less

Finished today: Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes. I've read a few of her Inspector Jury novels and found them interesting, but not enough to zealously pursue the entire series. This novel was very good, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Narrated by a 12-year-old girl in a small town investigating the mysterious death of a 12-year-old girl forty years ago, it reminds me a great deal of To Kill a Mickingbird. That same exquisite portrayal of largely unspoken events with only limited understanding by the protagonist and a wonderful internal monologue that certainly sounds realistic and often quite amusing. This is an even-paced exploration of small-town life, growing into maturity, and the mysteries of life. Unlike many modern novels, this story show more does not rely on myriad characters, crescendoing suspense and danger, or fast-paced, multitudinous, and ever-twisting plotlines, with everything neatly displayed and wrapped in a bow at the end. This story ends with greater clarity and understanding, true, but many details remain only hinted at or unresolved, reflecting the fact that life consists of many uncertainties, even at the best of times. show less

Hotel Paradise was better than I expected though not as good as some of the critics quoted on the cover claim. The characters are engaging, the setting is rich and clear, and the pacing is well done. When she's not waiting tables at the hotel owned by her shut-in great aunt and run by her industrious mother, twelve-year-old Emma helps the sheriff write parking tickets, sips soda at the town diner, and generally pokes her nose in where it doesn't belong. Fascinated by a young girl who drowned mysteriously 40 years prior, Emma sifts through old newspapers, visits the girl's abandoned family home, and interviews just about everyone over 40 in her town and the next. Like young Flavia De Luce of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Emma show more doesn't relate to kids her own age, but keeps to herself and lives more in her own head than anywhere else. Although I'm a Flavia fan, Grimes writes Emma so believably it's easy to forget all about Flavia while reading. I wouldn't say Grimes writing is "poetry" as one critic suggests, but Emma is fully human - excited, confused, variable, in love with her mother's cooking, growing up in fits and starts, and sometimes questioning her own sanity - and I'm looking forward to finding out where she goes next. show less

I'm waiting for the third book Martha Grimes has written about Emma Graham to be posted from America. Meanwhile I am re-reading this and Cold Flat Junction. I suspect these books are set in scenes the author is familiar with from childhood because the writing evokes the place and time so richly. This might be why I place them so high in my estimation - far above anything else I have read by the same author. I am totally captivated by the 'I' of the story and love the shifting sands of knowledge through the books and how the books both stand so complete without pinning anything down. My partner read them in the 'wrong' order and enjoyed them just as much - in fact he rated Cold Flat Junction highest and I put Hotel Paradise marginally on show more top. show less

Hotel Paradise is a very pretty, meandering book. The writing style is excellent but does occasionally get very dreary. The mystery is more of a background to the story, a place holder set out to stabilize things while we get to tour through the vast cast of characters.

One of my favorites. Read it twice, and probably will read it again. It's not a good book if mystery is what you're looking for. I did not care much for the mystery aspect. What I fell in love with is the voice of the narrator, 12 year-old, Emma.

I'm waiting for the third book Martha Grimes has written about Emma Graham to be posted from America. Meanwhile I am re-reading this and Cold Flat Junction. I suspect these books are set in scenes the author is familiar with from childhood because the writing evokes the place and time so richly. This might be why I place them so high in my estimation - far above anything else I have read by the same author. I am totally captivated by the 'I' of the story and love the shifting sands of knowledge through the books and how the books both stand so complete without pinning anything down. My partner read them in the 'wrong' order and enjoyed them just as much - in fact he rated Cold Flat Junction highest and I put Hotel Paradise marginally on show more top. show less