“This tale of seduction, obsession, and murder will resonate with fans of Patricia Highsmith. The pace is fast, the prose is smooth, and the plot genuinely twisty.”“She felt no remorse for drawing blood. In the context of their relationship, it had its place.” For Max and Laurel, nothing is off limits when they meet in room 553. Their illicit affair is exhilarating, passionate—and dangerous. … exhilarating, passionate—and dangerous.
Driven as much by compulsion as pleasure, Max can’t stop. His mistress is Jesus on the streets, and Satan in the sack. But when things take a sharp and sudden turn for the worse, he finds himself ensnared in a trap of his own making.
Under heavy scrutiny by the police and the media, Max is hailed as a cold and evasive womanizer. He made mistakes, to be sure. But does that make him a killer?
Unnerving and addictive, Room 553 is a vivid and sensual psychological thriller that weaves a story of cruelty, reckless desire, and blind, bloody justice.
Praise for Room 553
“King successfully constructs a teetering house of cards precariously stacked with lies, which threatens to topple at any moment. Suspense lovers will devour this deliciously duplicitous read, which is chock-full of twists, turns, lust, greed, and dishonesty.”
“King writes with a cool detachment and unflinching emotional honesty that takes your breath away.”
“Riveting. King excels at taking the reader to the darkest places in the human psyche.”
“Sharp. Stunning. A suspenseful, downright scary page-turner.”
“King does it again. Another perfect dark pleasure delivered seamlessly.”
“Fierce, and deeply felt.”
“Haunting and compulsive, artsy and edgy. Cancel your plans, because you’ll finish this addictive novel in one sitting.”
“Room 553 pulls you in and doesn’t let go. It’s the perfect gripping thriller.”
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Britney King is a master of compulsive, highly-readable thrillers that you can read in one sitting, and Room 553: A Psychological Thriller was not an exception.
What it’s about: Max and Laurel are having an affair, one that mostly takes place in room 553 of the Belmond. Anything goes while they are together, and neither of them seem to be able to stop the affair. But what happens when it goes too far? Suddenly Max is in jail and being tried for murder but is he really a killer?
I think I just wrote the shortest summery for a book ever, but I think it is very beneficial to go into Room 553 mostly blind. I didn’t even have to read the book’s synopsis to know I wanted to read it. I will read anything that King writes, no questions asked. So if you are a Britney King fan you are going to have to pick this up. And if you haven’t read a book by her yet (what!?) this might be a good one to start with. Even though it’s not her first book, it is a standalone and I think it really shows what her writing is like.
I actually found this book to be a bit slower than her other books, even though I still read it incredibly quickly – it took me a whole 2 hours and 23 minutes! – but for some reason it just felt a bit slower. This is not to say that there isn’t a lot going on, because there is, there was just something about it that made it feel slower to me. Maybe this is all in my head, but I really enjoyed savoring it while still flying through it.
Super quick chapters, devious characters, and so many secrets makes Room 553 the epitome of psychological thrillers, and I didn’t see any of the turns coming. While I still think Her was King’s best book so far, this one is solid and definitely worth the read.
Song/s the book brought to mind: I Wanna Be Bad by Willa Ford
Final Thought: I really don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t say anything else about this book other than you should totally read it. 🙂
Thank you to the author, Britney King, for providing me with an advance review copy of this book!