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Blue Hotel
In 1987, leather-clad tourist Blanca Nul goes missing in small-town New Zealand. Local reporter Ray Moody, washed-up and over-imbibing, gets a scoop the foreigner modelled for a pornographic magazine. He chases the story but crashes his car and loses his job.
A year to the day after she was reported missing, Blanca is mysteriously sighted a second time. Ray sees a chance to revisit the missing person story and revive his career. The doppelganger death is identified as local goth Amber Drake and labelled a suicide, but Ray is not convinced. He discovers Amber was a risk-taker with a darker purpose. She frequented the notorious S&M club Blue Hotel where the rich and powerful engaged their fantasies in anonymity.
As he searches for the real story Ray will learn how desperate, damaged and lonely people from all walks of life can be, and that the truth is hard-won and painful.
A year to the day after she was reported missing, Blanca is mysteriously sighted a second time. Ray sees a chance to revisit the missing person story and revive his career. The doppelganger death is identified as local goth Amber Drake and labelled a suicide, but Ray is not convinced. He discovers Amber was a risk-taker with a darker purpose. She frequented the notorious S&M club Blue Hotel where the rich and powerful engaged their fantasies in anonymity.
As he searches for the real story Ray will learn how desperate, damaged and lonely people from all walks of life can be, and that the truth is hard-won and painful.
- GenresCrime
336 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2022
3 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Chad Taylor
15 books8 followersChad Taylor is the author of the novels Blue Hotel, Departure Lounge, Electric, Shirker, Heaven, Pack of Lies and The Church of John Coltrane. He was awarded the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship and the Auckland University Literary Fellowship. Heaven was made as a feature film and his novels and stories are in translation. He wrote the movie Realiti which was selected for Fantastic Fest. Blue Hotel was a finalist for Best Novel in the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 22, 2022
She sighed. 'And then I was dead.'
I edged up on my elbow. 'What happened?'
'I was murdered.'
Blue Hotel is a crime noir set in New Zealand. The topography of seedy bars, shady businesses and S&M clubs complements the narrative perfectly. Along with the enigma that is the leather-clad tourist in Blanca Null; the plots' epicentre, Blue Hotel's tone is deliciously dark.
Taking a lone wolf approach to the murder mystery, Blue Hotel's tainted protagonist, newspaper journalist Ray Moody, wades in waters familiar to readers of this genre. His equal parts bad and redeeming qualities shine through as the story progresses with momentary glimpses of humility amongst the horrors of the investigation.
The story has a traditional private eye quality to it which keeps the pages turning nicely, whilst providing enough backstory to give Moody some strong character depth. His slow recovery from a alcohol infused car accident and the unravelling of his family life provide a welcome side bar to the plot proper.
If you enjoy reading crime fiction which has a darker tint to it than the norm, then definitely check this one out.
I edged up on my elbow. 'What happened?'
'I was murdered.'
Blue Hotel is a crime noir set in New Zealand. The topography of seedy bars, shady businesses and S&M clubs complements the narrative perfectly. Along with the enigma that is the leather-clad tourist in Blanca Null; the plots' epicentre, Blue Hotel's tone is deliciously dark.
Taking a lone wolf approach to the murder mystery, Blue Hotel's tainted protagonist, newspaper journalist Ray Moody, wades in waters familiar to readers of this genre. His equal parts bad and redeeming qualities shine through as the story progresses with momentary glimpses of humility amongst the horrors of the investigation.
The story has a traditional private eye quality to it which keeps the pages turning nicely, whilst providing enough backstory to give Moody some strong character depth. His slow recovery from a alcohol infused car accident and the unravelling of his family life provide a welcome side bar to the plot proper.
If you enjoy reading crime fiction which has a darker tint to it than the norm, then definitely check this one out.
October 28, 2024
The first line of the book says "I'm an old-fashioned reporter", and it's written that way. Short, pithy sentences that tell you what you need to know. I enjoyed the style. The book was engaging, and I enjoyed the mental wander through late-1980's Auckland.
October 7, 2022
Ray Moody is washed up. He drinks too much and won't look after himself. He's separated from his wife (it's more complicated than that), living in the house that her family still pays for and he's got a full time pre-occupation with separating himself from his career. So explaining the double disappearance of Blanca Nul in small-town New Zealand becomes his quest, as well as an excellent way of pretending that the meltdown that is his own life isn't happening.
BLUE HOTEL is darkest crime noir. It takes place in old fashioned newsrooms, questionable newsagencies, seedy bars, S&M clubs and cars. It's as New Zealand-as, but it's not. Moody is as New Zealand-as, but he's not. He's a lone wolf by personal preference, a private investigator for distraction purposes, and equal parts good bloke / absolute waster. The reader is free to choose which applies at many many points in the story.
Styled as a traditional private eye, noir story, the backstory of Moody, and his wife in particular, reveal themselves as he doggedly pursues a really odd disappearance. In 1987, leather-clad (in not the right weather for that sort of attire) tourist Blanca Nul walks out of a small-town bar in quiet rural New Zealand and vanishes. Moody gets a lead on her past life as a porn model, only to crash his car, lose his job and commence a long, slow life stuff-up adding the recovery from serious injuries to the things he gets wrong. When Blanca is sighted a year after her original disappearance, Moody seizes on this as a way to get, at least, his career back on track. Which the reader will always know is going to tank on him, but how and why might surprise.
Fans of noir are going to enjoy BLUE HOTEL. It's structured exactly as you'd expect of an entry in the genre, and it works in the setting and timeline the author has constructed. Moody is a perfect example of a lone-wolf, seedy, slightly pathetic noir hero (? anti-hero), full of personal angst and questionable decisions, clawing himself precariously towards high-moral ground on occasions, with a decidedly shaky grip all the way.
Loved this book, summed up a lot by this final line from the blurb:
"As he searches for the real story Ray will learn how desperate, damaged and lonely people from all walks of life can be, and that the truth is hard-won and painful."
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
BLUE HOTEL is darkest crime noir. It takes place in old fashioned newsrooms, questionable newsagencies, seedy bars, S&M clubs and cars. It's as New Zealand-as, but it's not. Moody is as New Zealand-as, but he's not. He's a lone wolf by personal preference, a private investigator for distraction purposes, and equal parts good bloke / absolute waster. The reader is free to choose which applies at many many points in the story.
Styled as a traditional private eye, noir story, the backstory of Moody, and his wife in particular, reveal themselves as he doggedly pursues a really odd disappearance. In 1987, leather-clad (in not the right weather for that sort of attire) tourist Blanca Nul walks out of a small-town bar in quiet rural New Zealand and vanishes. Moody gets a lead on her past life as a porn model, only to crash his car, lose his job and commence a long, slow life stuff-up adding the recovery from serious injuries to the things he gets wrong. When Blanca is sighted a year after her original disappearance, Moody seizes on this as a way to get, at least, his career back on track. Which the reader will always know is going to tank on him, but how and why might surprise.
Fans of noir are going to enjoy BLUE HOTEL. It's structured exactly as you'd expect of an entry in the genre, and it works in the setting and timeline the author has constructed. Moody is a perfect example of a lone-wolf, seedy, slightly pathetic noir hero (? anti-hero), full of personal angst and questionable decisions, clawing himself precariously towards high-moral ground on occasions, with a decidedly shaky grip all the way.
Loved this book, summed up a lot by this final line from the blurb:
"As he searches for the real story Ray will learn how desperate, damaged and lonely people from all walks of life can be, and that the truth is hard-won and painful."
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
July 28, 2023
‘I am an old-fashioned reporter. I type with two fingers and mark up copy by hand.’
Meet Ray Moody. He’s a small-town New Zealand reporter who drinks too much and is separated from his wife. Ray is searching for a big story, and the disappearance of tourist Blanca Nul might be just the ticket. Ray gets the tip that Blanca Nul modelled for a pornographic magazine but while he is chasing the story, he crashes his car and loses his job.
Exactly one year later, Blanca is mysteriously sighted. Could this be the chance that Ray needs to revive his career? He certainly hopes so. If nothing else, it gives him a chance to avoid his own sad reality. The woman mysteriously sighted is identified as Amber Drake, a local, and is labelled as a suicide. Ray is not convinced but his investigation leads him into danger, especially once he arrives at the Blue Hotel.
There are a few layers to this story: part private eye investigation and part self-destruction, Ray Moody is seeking for answers to personal issues as well as to the disappearance of Blanca Nul:
‘In life what matters reveals itself only at the end. Until that moment, you will always be wrong.’
If you like crime noir, you may enjoy this. I did.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Meet Ray Moody. He’s a small-town New Zealand reporter who drinks too much and is separated from his wife. Ray is searching for a big story, and the disappearance of tourist Blanca Nul might be just the ticket. Ray gets the tip that Blanca Nul modelled for a pornographic magazine but while he is chasing the story, he crashes his car and loses his job.
Exactly one year later, Blanca is mysteriously sighted. Could this be the chance that Ray needs to revive his career? He certainly hopes so. If nothing else, it gives him a chance to avoid his own sad reality. The woman mysteriously sighted is identified as Amber Drake, a local, and is labelled as a suicide. Ray is not convinced but his investigation leads him into danger, especially once he arrives at the Blue Hotel.
There are a few layers to this story: part private eye investigation and part self-destruction, Ray Moody is seeking for answers to personal issues as well as to the disappearance of Blanca Nul:
‘In life what matters reveals itself only at the end. Until that moment, you will always be wrong.’
If you like crime noir, you may enjoy this. I did.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
August 9, 2022
NZ noir with a distinct whiff of 50s gumshoe, BLUE HOTEL is a thoroughly modern tale of sex, money, death & addiction. Told via hard-drinking journalist Ray (is there any other kind of journo?!), the story starts with the disappearance of a statuesque Danish tourist who may or may not have been a sex worker.
Investigating her suspected death and subsequent sightings, Ray discovers that in the heart of Auckland, there are pockets of tight-lipped, well-resourced people with predilections they prefer to keep secret. As his digging uncovers names, clubs, & dual identities, Ray is forced to examine his own appearance to society at large.
If the truth is what's printed - how do you make sure the right story is the one being told.
With a sharp takedown of NZ's print journalism industry and the Kiwi attitude to alcohol, BLUE HOTEL is more than just a detective novel.
(Cudos to the author for not exploiting the BDSM lifestyle, for taking the time to learn the correct terminology and reinforce the importance of consent and safety.)
Investigating her suspected death and subsequent sightings, Ray discovers that in the heart of Auckland, there are pockets of tight-lipped, well-resourced people with predilections they prefer to keep secret. As his digging uncovers names, clubs, & dual identities, Ray is forced to examine his own appearance to society at large.
If the truth is what's printed - how do you make sure the right story is the one being told.
With a sharp takedown of NZ's print journalism industry and the Kiwi attitude to alcohol, BLUE HOTEL is more than just a detective novel.
(Cudos to the author for not exploiting the BDSM lifestyle, for taking the time to learn the correct terminology and reinforce the importance of consent and safety.)
September 13, 2022
✍️ In 1987 Blanca Null goes missing in New Zealand and in 1988 is mysteriously sighted a second time. Local reporter Ray Moody decides to revisit the missing person case to help revive his career and find the truth.
WOW!! I LOVED this!! Highly recommend everyone get a copy! It was everything I wanted in a book. I l'm a big fan of noir novels so was thrilled to get into it and it absolutely did not disappoint! It was completely innovative and unlike anything I have read before starting from the narrative, the setting and the articulation.
The writing style and communication between the characters was extremely eloquent, astute and riveting. I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the 1980s feel of the story and the pace was at the right balance to keep me guessing and wanting more. I indulged in the cleverly contrived plot from beginning to end. Absolutely marvellous.
WOW!! I LOVED this!! Highly recommend everyone get a copy! It was everything I wanted in a book. I l'm a big fan of noir novels so was thrilled to get into it and it absolutely did not disappoint! It was completely innovative and unlike anything I have read before starting from the narrative, the setting and the articulation.
The writing style and communication between the characters was extremely eloquent, astute and riveting. I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the 1980s feel of the story and the pace was at the right balance to keep me guessing and wanting more. I indulged in the cleverly contrived plot from beginning to end. Absolutely marvellous.
August 16, 2022
I loved it. I mean, I did publish and edit it but I did that because it only took a few pages for me to become immersed in the world of Ray Moody as he doggedly hunts for the truth of what is happening.
Chad Taylor is a skilled and accomplished author that more people should know.
Chad Taylor is a skilled and accomplished author that more people should know.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews