I’m not a chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I understand the allure of mixing different ingredients to come up with something unexpectedly exciting. Here, Rob Hart’s novel “The Paradox Hotel” combines the genres of mystery and time travel for a unique reading experience.
What would it be like if it became possible to travel to the past? Instead of scientific and historical exploration, society has instead been able to harness technology for…tourism. The name of the story is a hotel located next to the Einstein Timeport that indulges in the whims of time-traveling trillionaires, while agents try to prevent them from changing or interfering with the past by poaching or, say, saving the Titanic.
January Cole is a wise-headed security chief who seems devoid of courtesy — or a candidate. She’s also unstuck, a unique (and ultimately life-threatening) case of past travels, causing her to unexpectedly see scenes of what hasn’t yet happened or relive past experiences. The secret keeping her from simply leaving is that she is still able to see glimpses of her ex-girlfriend around the property, not to mention discovering a body she can’t see alone.
Even without the invisible murder victims, it’s a terrible, horrific, no-good, ironically too bad day. There was a massive snow storm, and the expeditions were cancelled. The rooms are packed, the lights are flashing and the property sale top has been unexpectedly raised for a week. It makes a lot of eccentric rich people who aren’t used to being bothered – and that’s before the dinosaurs broke up.
As she navigates this series of crises with her personal plane, Ruby (think of it as Alexa’s supercharged plane), January meets four bidders for the property. Each has their own reasons for wanting to win, but not everyone seems to care how their long-term plans can cause irreparable damage to the schedule.
In thwarting the bidders’ assassination attempts, January and Robbie discover that someone has been tampering with their security and video systems. Are you working with a saboteur or could there be a ghost in the machine?
The clock is ticking – and for some reason, less regularly – for January to determine what happened and what will happen before her increasingly erratic behavior either sidelines her or drives her crazy. Having alienated nearly everyone around her, can January now count on others to help her thwart what could be a time catastrophe?
Starting “The Paradox” is closer to starting in the middle of the story. The author intentionally leaves the reader to sort out the characters and understand the many ongoing relationships without being overly complicated. While the delicious blend of time travel and mystery almost always works, in the end the novel turns out to be something truly surprising—a story about the importance of love, loyalty, and family.
Ken Satterfield is the loan assistant at Missouri River Regional Library.
