The Lazarus Hotel

by Jo Bannister

Six Londoners who do not know one another check into a posh hotel for an intense group therapy session on overcoming tragedy, but when the session starts and they start to learn they are all tied together by a single incident, they must learn who is manipulating them.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature

280 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997

About the author

Jo Bannister lives in Northern Ireland, where she worked as a journalist and editor on local newspapers. Since giving up the day job, her books have been shortlisted for a number of awards. Most of her spare time is spent with her horse and dog, or clambering over archaeological sites. She is currently working on a new series of psychological crime/thrillers.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Locked room mystery.

A series of people are stranded at the top of a luxury hotel construction site under the pretense of a personal growth weekend.

What actually happens is the grieving father has collected those people he felt had a link to his daughter and failed her in some way.

What he did not know was one of them killed her and is now attacking the others who find out that secret.

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good mystery. Nice character development and twists. If you pay attention early, you can identify the main suspect. I never read And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, but I plan to read it now.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprise ending - takes place in a building under construction

[Shelby Beckman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun thriller palette cleanser after A Little Life!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a pleasure to read right up to the last page. Certain plots never get old for me. Take a handful of characters, put them in a setting far, far away, with no access to civilization, and then sic an unknown killer on them. Agatha Christie did this brilliantly with And Then There Were None. Many authors have modernized the story but essentially left the plot twist the same. Jo Bannister’s doesn’t. First of all, she creates likable characters. She does a great job of fleshing them out and making you care about them, (which is uncomfortable considering that you assume they will all be dead before the end of the story). My favourite scene, hands down, is the one when one character begs the others not to trust someone he suspects of being the murderer. I loved that scene and loved not knowing who to believe. I recommend this book highly.

[Mamatufy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on Christie's And Then There Were None. The ensemble cast is assembled in a brand new high rise in London to hash out their feelings in an isolated setting. Through talking about their lives, they realize they are tied to each other through a recently dead woman. While trying to figure out who's attacking everyone, they uncover a truth that almost kills all of them. Intriguing & surprising in the end.

[Micky Parise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. 1st time reading Jo Bannister and what a great book. Excellent plot, excellent characters, story just flowed. Surprise ending and one those books that you couldn't wait till the end and then disappointed it was finished. Recommend.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kind of reminded me of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. A version of the locked-room mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat until you get to the end!

[Linda Lawrie]

weird