New Zealand, 1987: brick cell phones, two TV channels, home taping is killing music. In a small coastal town, a tourist disappears into the night. The woman has apparently come to life from a photograph: a year later she reappears, only to die again. The reporter who pursues the mystery is drawn into an urban underworld where art is the only truth.
Blue Hotel was named in the New Zealand Listener's Best Books of 2022 and Best Novel finalist in the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards.
– Craig Sisterson, CrimeWatch
"Dark and funny"
– Mark Broatch, New Zealand Listener
"Blue Hotel is darkest crime noir. It takes place in old fashioned newsrooms, questionable newsagencies, seedy bars, S&M clubs and cars. It's as New Zealand-as, but it's not."
– Karen Chisholm, AustCrimeFiction
Genre: Mystery
Blue Hotel was named in the New Zealand Listener's Best Books of 2022 and Best Novel finalist in the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards.
Reviews of Blue Hotel
"Full of depth, striking characters, sparkling writing, and a rich sense of time and place."– Craig Sisterson, CrimeWatch
"Dark and funny"
– Mark Broatch, New Zealand Listener
"Blue Hotel is darkest crime noir. It takes place in old fashioned newsrooms, questionable newsagencies, seedy bars, S&M clubs and cars. It's as New Zealand-as, but it's not."
– Karen Chisholm, AustCrimeFiction
About the author
Chad Taylor is the author of the novels Departure Lounge, Electric, Shirker, Heaven, Pack of Lies and The Church of John Coltrane, and the short story collection The Man Who Wasn't Feeling Himself. He was awarded the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship and the Auckland University Literary Fellowship. Heaven was made into a feature film and his novels and stories are in translation. He wrote the movie Realiti which was selected for Fantastic Fest. His most recent novel Blue Hotel was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Awards Best Novel.Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Chad Taylor's Blue Hotel