A review by alundeberg
The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain

3.0

I LOVED Antoine Laurain's fun time-travel romp through 1954 Paris in "Vintage 1954", so I had some expectations for his "The Readers' Room", a mystery about a highly-acclaimed novel that mirrors recent murders and whose author is unknown. At 172 pages, it is a quick read, perfect for a flight, but it wasn't as satisfying. Centered around complex editor Violaine LePage who is suffering from slight amnesia from a plane crash, the novel veers from her issues and identity to the other characters' issues and identity and somewhere in there is a police investigation connecting the mysterious author to connected deaths. I started to feel impatient-- who and what is this novel about? It really feels like Laurain wrote this to entertain himself and his publishers decided to put it in print. There is a lot in here about authors going rogue and not doing what they're supposed to do, so maybe he's getting cheeky in his role.

It's a good way to pass the time when you're on a plane, but I feel a bit resentful having paid full price.