The Paradox Hotel

A Novel

By: Rob Hart

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

“Time travel, murder, corruption, restless baby dinosaurs, and a snarky robot named Ruby collide in this excellent, noir-inflected, humor-infused, science-fiction thriller.”—The Boston Globe

An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel at stake. From the author of The Warehouse . . .

FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, Kirkus Reviews

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

At once a dazzlingly time-twisting murder mystery and a story about grief, memory, and what it means to—literally—come face-to-face with our ghosts, The Paradox Hotel is another unforgettable speculative thrill ride from acclaimed author Rob Hart.

©2022 Rob Hart (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Smashes together some of the best elements of science fiction and crime to deliver a story in which time is broken . . . As funny and entertaining as it is dark and complex. [A] wildly entertaining combination, along with Hart’s relentless pacing, make this a rare hybrid that has something for everyone.”—NPR

“[A] tale of death and destruction down the timelanes . . . [Hart advances] his detective-pursuing-a-master-criminal plot neatly and suspensefully and satisfyingly, moving from one new surprising clue to another.”—Locus

“Entrancing in its pull right from the start . . . Science fiction mixed with the aching pangs of loss and romance will pull the reader toward January Cole’s side and bring them along for a thrill ride.”—San Francisco Book Review

Superb Syfy mystery with time, travel, backdrop

This is a fantastic, entertaining quality mystery, which features, a sci-fi, technology and time travel, related backdrop. An entertaining element is the time travel is not the major focus or tool used within the mystery, it is, however, the backdrop location of the story.

The narration and performance is excellent, one of the best I’ve heard in years. There are points when Her voice gets choked up as the main character is telling you that they are choked up… and it made me tear up from performance and quality intonation.

Good story.

Interesting story and concept on time. Characters' pronouns were annoying. Good book for young women.

Highly entertaining

I really enjoyed the book, both the story and the narration. There were times I needed to relisten to get details I missed but I felt it was well worth it. I found the story to be a unique use of time travel and I love the genre so unique can be hard to find. I look forward to reading more from Mr Hart.

A superbly enjoyable read!

This is my first book by Rob Hart, and I must admit, it was the beautiful cover and the promise of time travel that reeled me in and made me want to read this story. I enjoyed the non-linear way this story was told, with time jumping for the main character, January, due to her condition.
There were several twists and turns which made for a compelling mystery, but I feel this book was more character-focused than anything. January is a likable character precisely because she doesn't really like anyone, not even Ruby, her drone, who I affectionately imagine with Manu Bennett's voice as it's mentioned to have a Kiwi accent after she hacked it. January's interactions with Ruby are some of the best bits of the book!
There's also plenty of LGBTQIA+ representation with same-sex couples, as well as a non-binary character and a trans character. What I love about this is that none of these characters feel tokenized and just there for rep. They have some of the most beautiful lines and scenes in the book.
I mentioned this book is more about character than the murder mystery, and that is exceedingly true for January, who goes on a journey of healing from extreme grief, guilt, and self-loathing. It's beautiful to watch unfold.
There are also plenty of wild antics along the way, including a dino chase Jurassic park style!
All in all, this was a very enjoyable read. The ending was a bit weak, choosing to end with a whimper rather than a bang, but endings are hard! I'd give this a 4.5.

Sure I'll Guard Your Timestream

Ambitious in scope, well-narrated, and as complicated as any good time-travel tale has a right to be, The Paradox Hotel eventually winds its way around to a satisfying conclusion. One never is certain (nor are the characters, it seems) whether the particular timeline being experienced is a first-run event or all a part of some sinister design. Such is made evident when the text itself seems to glitch with snippets of the exact same prose repeating itself in subsequent chapters as if it were brand new. (I actually found myself checking the chapter number to make sure I had not pressed a button by accident, but, no, the repeats were by design.) With that said, this is quite a clever book that makes good use of the time-travel genre although readers may have to hang in there for the payoff—just be patient. The plot certainly does enjoy disorienting its readers, and those who have read The Warehouse will be familiar with Rob Hart's way of placing his characters in mouse-mazes disguised as quirky environments; watching them cope as best they can, all the while suggesting ominously that things are not at all what they seem; and perhaps snickering a bit while they try and find their way out. This book has plenty of fun-house madness going for it, but it also has a great deal of heart. Finally, I wanted to just mention that as of this review, I noticed that the book is not categorized as LGBTQ+, yet given that its central characters are lesbians and that their relationship plays an important role in the events that unfold, this does seem like a bit of an oversight. (Ahem.)

Left me still wondering

I enjoyed it. I like the entire concept. It has Lots of cool ideas and interesting connections. Very trippy. Could have been pushed more.

Time travel

This was an entertaining book and the narrator embodied the main character so well. My only complaint would be that the other characters were a little hard to follow because they sounded too similar

an impeccable novel

bought this mostly for Emily Woo Zeller. she's brilliant here as usual. I loved the book. it's a deep emotional experience like that of PLANETFALL by Emma Newman but with the flash of a thriller. I'll be revisiting this for sure.

Entertaining

I enjoyed the story. some slow parts but I was excited to get to the end. Worth the listen...

Great story, performance is challenging.

I know we are all professionals here and I hesitated to comment but felt compelled. The performer has excellent character voices and pitch and it pleasant to listen to. My only issue is the inflection on words. She reads every sentence as it it's a headline with the first word in BOLD CAPS. The start of "every" sentence is hard, loud and inflected almost as if reading a long list of headlines for a new product. There isn't any flow or emotion.

I put it away for a few months and came back determined to get past my petty grievance, but I failed again. I just can't listen to it anymore and I have 8 hours left.

Note to self, "listen very carefully to the Sample Reading" for new books to buy...lol...