Despite a delayed release from March to May because of the coronavirus, Joël Dicker's new novel is finally out! Since Tuesday, May 26, we can browse the pages of The Enigma of Room 622. The story takes place in his native Switzerland.
A growing success for Dicker
The Swiss author of only 34 years already has 5 novels to his name. Immersed in literature with his mother (bookseller) and father (French teacher), writing was part of his life from an early age. In addition, at the age of ten, he founded La Gazette des animaux. It is a journal on nature that he will direct for seven years. Thanks to this, he won the Cunéo Prize for the Protection of Nature and was named the youngest editor-in-chief in Switzerland by La Tribune de Genève. With his first novel Les Derniers Jours de nos pères, he received the Prix des écrivains genevois in 2010. It was with his second novel, La Vérité sur l'affaire Harry Québert , that he made a name for himself in the French-speaking world. Published only two years after the first, it was a huge success. The book was translated into 40 languages and 5 million copies were sold worldwide. A television series adaptation will even be made with the great Patrick Dempsey in the lead role of Harry Quebert. He continued his momentum with a third novel in 2015, The Book of Baltimore. And finally in 2018, his penultimate book The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer. He returns in 2020 with a breathless novel, The Enigma of Room 622 . 
A thrilling plot to the tune of Cluedo
The 582-page book is set for the first time in Dicker's homeland. Indeed, after having written 4 novels all set in the United States, the author expresses his desire for change during an interview for RTL :
"I think it was time for me to talk about Switzerland, the country where I was born, where I live, which is my identity, but which may have taken a back seat this year."
The enigma of room 622 tells us about the investigation into a murder in a palace in Geneva. He was a clerk years ago in the Verbier ski resort within Room 622. The main hero, Joël like the writer, decides to take a few days of vacation following the death of his publisher. His stay will take place in this same hotel without knowing what awaits him.
His book is full of twists and turns, as he usually does. It is also an opportunity to pay a touching tribute to his real publisher who died 2 years ago, Bernard de Fallois, who we find as a character in this book. A book waiting for you in all bookstores, so do not hesitate!
