Review of The Aragon Hotel Murders
Posted: 04 Feb 2022, 17:03
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Aragon Hotel Murders" by David Ferguson.]
The Aragon Hotel Murders by David Ferguson is a story that follows a detective in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1930s. William is a detective in Atlanta and an alcoholic. He took to drinking after a tragedy that happened to his wife and son. Going to the office one morning, he sees a work truck parked outside a derelict hotel, which used to be the grandest in the area. He goes inside because he has a weird feeling, and he stumbles across a body. This is not first death that has occurred in the hotel. Three murders happened in the late 1800s, and there are rumors that it's haunted.
William calls for help and begins searching the hotel. He has the feeling that there's more going on than meets the eye. While waiting for backup, he loses time and has flashbacks to World War I. He also begins to see mysterious, dark, dangerous shapes in the shadows. Other people think it's his withdrawal but he's sure there’s more to it. Can William overcome his struggle with alcohol to solve this case? Are there connections between the historical murders and the new murder? Will William be able to navigate the politics surrounding this hotel and his work?
I enjoyed the author's description of the setting and the hotel, and I also enjoyed the inclusion of Atlanta landmarks. I’m from Georgia and it was a lot of fun to recognize street names and other landmarks. There were a couple of interesting twists at the end that were completely unexpected. They added to the drama of the story and created a neat ending. The portrayal of police behavior in the south during the 1930s was realistic and well written, and it added to the immersion of the story and setting.
Unfortunately, there were several things I disliked about this work. There were instances where the author switched tenses unintentionally. A few acronyms were also used without the definition being included. There were sentences with awkward wording that were difficult to understand. There were also inconsistencies in the text. For example, sometimes the author used "feet" when discussing distances and other times used an apostrophe. Similarly, sometimes numbers were spelled out and other times the actual number was used.
The author also used "etc." many times, which felt informal and took away from the immersion of the story. The dialogue and prose were stilted, and it made it difficult to become invested in any of the characters. There were also many errors. Overall, the work doesn't appear to have been professionally edited.
I’m rating The Aragon Hotel Murders by David Ferguson 2 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed the concept of the story and the history that was included, but I didn’t feel that it was well executed. Some good editing would make a big difference. This work would be suitable for readers who like historical fiction, murder mysteries, and detective novels.
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The Aragon Hotel Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Aragon Hotel Murders by David Ferguson is a story that follows a detective in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1930s. William is a detective in Atlanta and an alcoholic. He took to drinking after a tragedy that happened to his wife and son. Going to the office one morning, he sees a work truck parked outside a derelict hotel, which used to be the grandest in the area. He goes inside because he has a weird feeling, and he stumbles across a body. This is not first death that has occurred in the hotel. Three murders happened in the late 1800s, and there are rumors that it's haunted.
William calls for help and begins searching the hotel. He has the feeling that there's more going on than meets the eye. While waiting for backup, he loses time and has flashbacks to World War I. He also begins to see mysterious, dark, dangerous shapes in the shadows. Other people think it's his withdrawal but he's sure there’s more to it. Can William overcome his struggle with alcohol to solve this case? Are there connections between the historical murders and the new murder? Will William be able to navigate the politics surrounding this hotel and his work?
I enjoyed the author's description of the setting and the hotel, and I also enjoyed the inclusion of Atlanta landmarks. I’m from Georgia and it was a lot of fun to recognize street names and other landmarks. There were a couple of interesting twists at the end that were completely unexpected. They added to the drama of the story and created a neat ending. The portrayal of police behavior in the south during the 1930s was realistic and well written, and it added to the immersion of the story and setting.
Unfortunately, there were several things I disliked about this work. There were instances where the author switched tenses unintentionally. A few acronyms were also used without the definition being included. There were sentences with awkward wording that were difficult to understand. There were also inconsistencies in the text. For example, sometimes the author used "feet" when discussing distances and other times used an apostrophe. Similarly, sometimes numbers were spelled out and other times the actual number was used.
The author also used "etc." many times, which felt informal and took away from the immersion of the story. The dialogue and prose were stilted, and it made it difficult to become invested in any of the characters. There were also many errors. Overall, the work doesn't appear to have been professionally edited.
I’m rating The Aragon Hotel Murders by David Ferguson 2 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed the concept of the story and the history that was included, but I didn’t feel that it was well executed. Some good editing would make a big difference. This work would be suitable for readers who like historical fiction, murder mysteries, and detective novels.
******
The Aragon Hotel Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon