The Book Report Episode #30
Episode #29
The Launch Party By Lauren Forry
The Book
I am an idiot. I know… When researching the published date of this book. I was so certain that I went to Forbidden Planet on a birthday day out. But that never happened. I did, however, do that in July for our anniversary.
The reason being. The published date for this book was June 2023. I wondered how this would be possible if I bought it in March. Well, I didn’t. That’s why I am an idiot.
Anyway… This book was published in June 2023, by Zaffre, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK. This means that well-established authors who sell books are giving an extra bit of love.
The book has 399 pages with acknowledgements. I was lucky to buy a signed copy.
What Did I Think
A group of ten people, “randomly” selected people won a prize to be the first to stay at a brand new state-of-the-art hotel. The twist being is that this hotel is on the moon.
I am guessing this book is set sometime in the near future. As the only science fiction in the book is that they use spaceships not too far advanced to the rockets we have now, converted into passenger ships. The Hotel Artemis is on the moon. And the spaceport is in Cornwall. Oh and maybe a spacewalk.
Ten people selected from all different backgrounds spend three days together to get to the moon only to find it abandoned. Everyone has disappeared. No staff. Nothing. The A I interactive system barely works, and when the first murder happens. Nobody knows what to do.
This leads to a who dunnit that doesn’t hit Agatha Christine levels but still a nice slow-paced journey, learning about the characters and mainly what is wrong with each of them. There always is something. What were the past events that brought them here and whether being here will help their future somehow? The accusations and other things that are wrong with this party of people.
Copper
By chance one of those random people is a detective and tries her best to deal with it as best she can. With help, three days of space travel away and she has been locked out of the CCTV. She has to find help in a group of people she doesn’t know or trust.
This feature of the hotel being on the moon, added a slight change to the norm. But coming to the end of the story I did wonder, was it necessary? What I mean is, when I read who dunnit and how it was done. The means and length the killer went through was not, by any means, cost-effective. It would have been cheaper and less hassle to send a hitman. Not to the moon. But on Earth. The “benefactor” is either stupid or has more money than sense.
Would I Recommend
For what it is. It is a good read if you have nothing to do and need something to relax with. This is something I would classify as a Sunday afternoon movie. So, yes, I would recommend this book.
So maybe give it a go.
Would you like to purchase your very own copy?
You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA. Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/ USA, Barnes and Noble and eBay UK/ USA.
Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.
