The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart #bookreview #scifi #mystery #TuesdayBookBlog

On By Teri PolenIn Book Reviews

An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel at stake. From the author of The Warehouse.

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

At once a dazzlingly time-twisting murder mystery and a story about grief, memory, and what it means to—literally—come face-to-face with our ghosts, The Paradox Hotel is another unforgettable speculative thrill ride from acclaimed author Rob Hart. 

A hotel that’s a sort of weigh station where time travelers catch their “flights” to the past – what an amazing concept. Throw in a murder with a corpse that only the investigator can see, a seemingly endless cast of suspects, and a group of trillionaires bidding to take over the hotel – there’s a lot going on in this novel, and I wanted to see how it played out.

MC January Jones is intimidating. She’s a no-nonsense, intelligent, take-no-prisoners kind of gal who doesn’t suffer fools gladly and has little patience for entitled rich hotel guests. Extensively trained in martial arts, she’s not someone you want to tangle with. She’s also “unstuck” – time is fluid and she sees memories from the past playing out as if they’re happening in the present and occurrences in the future that may or may not come to pass. It’s a result of the extensive time traveling she did while working for the Time Enforcement Agency – which makes her an unreliable narrator at times. Still deeply grieving the death of her girlfriend, she’s abrasive to everyone she encounters.

Between the guests and hotel employees, there’s a long list of suspects, and it was difficult for me to keep up with everyone – I flipped back several times to refresh my memory. Despite that, I guessed who was behind everything from nearly the beginning, so I gave myself a pat on the back for that one. In addition to the murder and attacks on guests, someone is messing with the timeline resulting in catastrophic consequences. January has her work cut out for her.

A lot is packed into this novel – themes of deep grief and guilt, wealth inequities, found families, and Buddhist philosophy. Oh – and dinosaurs. This is a mind-bending, complex story you absolutely can’t skim through, but it enthralled this sci-fi fan, and I thought the epilogue was perfect.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

35 thoughts on “The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart #bookreview #scifi #mystery #TuesdayBookBlog”

    1. Some books I’m able to skim through and still get what’s going on. This isn’t one of those books. It’s a complex storyline and even with focusing on it, I was still confused at parts, Tessa. But such an awesome concept.

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  11. It does sound like there’s a lot going on! Dinosaurs too. Ha ha. Great review, Teri. I liked your warning that the book requires paying extra attention, since, for me at least, I need to be in the mood for something like that versus something quick and simple. I’m a little disappointed that you figured out the culprit early, but that doesn’t seem to have lessened your enjoyment. Great review.

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    1. With some books your attention can wander a bit, but it’s still pretty easy to keep up with the story. This isn’t one of them. I backtracked a couple of times just to figure out who a character was there were so many. I needed one of those police boards with pictures of all the suspects, lol. Thanks, Diana!

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