The Murders in the Endicott Hotel, by American author David Murphy, is a chilling murder mystery full of action and suspense. It has a very unique premise, one that posits the ultimate solution to crimes committed by serial killers via the amygdalotomy, which, in theory, removes their ability to pose harm to others.
In the story, five imprisoned serial killers went through such a psychosurgery and are now fundamentally rehabilitated, or so argued Pioneer Medical Technologies, the biomedical company that sponsors Project Themis. The company then flies these five individuals to a luxurious hotel in Alaska for a PR event, whose attendees include a group of invited and uninvited guests.
Then, of course, things start to go wrong, beginning with the company’s CEO poisoned to death. With all communications cut off, the weather conditions increasingly deteriorating, and their only helicopter pilot murdered, the hotel’s guests and staff are being slaughtered one after another. A former detective must race against time and find the killer.
The author clearly wants to provide a comprehensive examination of human psyche through a large ensemble of characters with diverse backgrounds. Readers are given meticulous details of each character’s personal circumstances, and the description of their dialogues and actions is often tedious, perhaps in an attempt to invite scrutinisation by those who love detective novels.
Throughout the narrative, the author keeps readers guessing who the killer or killers may be and who is likely to be their next target. More often than not, our attention is drawn to the question of nature versus nurture, as well as how the supposedly reformed serial killers perceive themselves and are perceived by those around them.
With that said, only a couple of characters are better developed to afford us a glimpse of their beliefs, desires, agendas and pursuits. While these are outstanding, the author’s no-nonsense approach means there is often a lack of motives and repercussions given about the thoughts and actions of the other characters, which considerably diminishes our interests in them.
All things considered, The Murders in the Endicott Hotel as a story is well executed in the author’s attempt to depict the reality mentioned in his preface, which is “made up of folk who are humble, proud, strong, weak, polite, rude, and in possession of those many manifold and often contradictory features that make up the human spectrum, and which…are so contrary and complex as to make it impossible to boil down into a single representative, a specimen who may accurately stereotype the others”. Along this particular line of reasoning, the large ensemble of characters makes good sense and enriches the story as a murder mystery.
But, to take the story to a higher level (such as an excellent psychological thriller), the author can fully utilise its unique premise and give us an in-depth and full-scale probe into the impact and effect of the psychosurgery.
Note: This book review was originally titled “A meticulously detailed crime novel”.
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 