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A review by outsmartyourshelf
Black Lake Manor by Guy Morpuss
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
In 1804, the Pride of Whitby, is shipwrecked on the treacherous shores on the west coast of Canada. Only seven men originally survive, making it to shore in a lifeboat, with three making it into the labyrinthian caves, but ultimately only, Captain Ross, made it out alive. His descendants are said to have inherited the power to just once in their lives, wind time back six hours & relive it over again, even changing the outcome.
Over two hundred years later, Ella Manning, marine biologist and part-time police constable with the RCMP, is invited to a party at Black Lake Manor, the cliff-top mansion of Lincoln Shah. Shah, a billionaire, was one of Ella's closest childhood friends, alongside Noah Diaz, & is her ex-fiancé, although Lincoln wants to change that. Ella is invited there to witness the unveiling of new technology from Lincoln's company, involving hard light, a technology that allows people to remotely control facsimiles of themselves that are hard to distinguish from the real thing. The party goes off fairly smoothly, except for a powerful storm which brings down communication to the mainland for at least 24 hours, The next morning, Lincoln is dead, murdered, & one of few flesh-and-blood guests to attend is the guilty party. Ella has to navigate old friendships, rivalries, & new technology to try & find the killer, but just as she thinks she has identified the guilty party, time is rewound, & her investigation begins again with different conclusions.
This is a spin on the 'locked room' trope where six people are cut off from the rest of the world for a period of time with a killer amongst them. The difference here is the technology & the myths & legends that may or may not be true. Set in 2045 the technology is certainly intriguing. It takes a little getting into - for the first few chapters I wasn't sure what has happening - but when the story settles into the whodunit, it's so good. Ella is a main character whose personality type would probably be classed as INTJ (Myers-Briggs): emotionally unavailable, logic driven, & is said to have a great capacity for empathising with animals but not so much with humans. Girl, same! The other characters/suspects include Lincoln's current squeeze, Rebecca, his shady lawyer, two of Lincoln's employees, & former friend, Noah Diaz. The book was reminiscent to me of The 7 & 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle, but here the case is examined from several different angles/timelines, rather than different characters. Readers who like 'locked room' mysteries with a slightly futuristic twist would probably enjoy this. I did & will probably re-read it at some point.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Serpent's Tail/Viper/Profile Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
Over two hundred years later, Ella Manning, marine biologist and part-time police constable with the RCMP, is invited to a party at Black Lake Manor, the cliff-top mansion of Lincoln Shah. Shah, a billionaire, was one of Ella's closest childhood friends, alongside Noah Diaz, & is her ex-fiancé, although Lincoln wants to change that. Ella is invited there to witness the unveiling of new technology from Lincoln's company, involving hard light, a technology that allows people to remotely control facsimiles of themselves that are hard to distinguish from the real thing. The party goes off fairly smoothly, except for a powerful storm which brings down communication to the mainland for at least 24 hours, The next morning, Lincoln is dead, murdered, & one of few flesh-and-blood guests to attend is the guilty party. Ella has to navigate old friendships, rivalries, & new technology to try & find the killer, but just as she thinks she has identified the guilty party, time is rewound, & her investigation begins again with different conclusions.
This is a spin on the 'locked room' trope where six people are cut off from the rest of the world for a period of time with a killer amongst them. The difference here is the technology & the myths & legends that may or may not be true. Set in 2045 the technology is certainly intriguing. It takes a little getting into - for the first few chapters I wasn't sure what has happening - but when the story settles into the whodunit, it's so good. Ella is a main character whose personality type would probably be classed as INTJ (Myers-Briggs): emotionally unavailable, logic driven, & is said to have a great capacity for empathising with animals but not so much with humans. Girl, same! The other characters/suspects include Lincoln's current squeeze, Rebecca, his shady lawyer, two of Lincoln's employees, & former friend, Noah Diaz. The book was reminiscent to me of The 7 & 1/2 Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle, but here the case is examined from several different angles/timelines, rather than different characters. Readers who like 'locked room' mysteries with a slightly futuristic twist would probably enjoy this. I did & will probably re-read it at some point.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Serpent's Tail/Viper/Profile Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Murder
Minor: Animal death