Murder at the Hotel Orient

It may claim to be set in contemporary Vienna, but this novel reverberates far more with hotels–and their staff—from years ago. Visitors arrive at the Hotel Orient for many reasons, but the most likely are to enjoy a sexual tryst, appreciate a real good dalliance of yore, or just to hide their secrets. Cameras, along with all technology newer since the lightbulb, are banned. And guests are expected to adopt an alias, whether for three hours or 30 days. At the center of the hotel is American Sterling Lockwood, the cool, queer concierge and “keeper of the secrets.” She is ready to make every visit memorable no matter what it takes, as is Fernando, her best friend and bellhop. But, shockingly, the unmanageable happens: a double murder is discovered one morning, a first in the Orient’s history. Without technology and with a ledger full of falsehoods there is no way to decipher who the victim was or where they were going. What can be determined is that Fernando and Sterling must become  detectives, if only to save their own skins.—Brian Kenney