Murder at the Hotel Orient by Alessandra Ranelli
If Murder at the Hotel Orient were a film, it would be given an “R” if not an “NC-17” rating, as it is a quite naughty, although highly entertaining, murder mystery that would be unsuitable for church or library-based book clubs. The dedication attests to this: “For Mr. Husson, my fourth-grade teacher, who made me promise to dedicate my first book to him. I’m sorry it’s so slutty.”
This is the debut novel of Alessandra Ranelli, whose fictional characters and plot revolve around Austria’s infamous and historic family-owned Hotel Orient in Vienna, which has stood at the same address, Tiefer Graben 30, for over 300 years. The street name translates as “deep ditch,” which refers to an ancient dry stream bed bordering the inner city since the Middle Ages. Portions of the enduring classic 1939 noir thriller The Third Man were filmed here. The author was able to visit all the rooms, including the hidden ones, during her sojourn as writer-in-residence in the Hotel Orient, comprised of 20 opulently decorated themed rooms spread over four levels that typically rent by the hour with a three-hour minimum but may be engaged for a full night or longer. The Kaiser or Imperial suite is so named as it was frequented by Emperor Franz Joseph I with his favored mistresses. Discretion is mandated as guests must register using aliases, and all phones, photos and videos are forbidden. Service is impeccable, cleanliness is paramount and a full bar, including vintage wines and fine food, is on offer. It is the venue of choice of the most elegant escorts and elite sex workers for their affluent clients.
In a country where bureaucracy is a byword and prostitution between consenting adults is legal, it should not be surprising that here the oldest profession is stringently regulated by laws, licensing, and enforcement.
A Concierge Caught in a Deadly Scandal
Sterling Lockwood is a multilingual American concierge who has secrets of her own. Having fled to Vienna from New York as a teenager 15 years ago after committing a justifiable homicide, she had made a home with her Aunt Serafina, an employee of the hotel. When Serafina died mysteriously in what police concluded was a suicide, her money and other valuables vanished. With an expired passport, forged papers, and fingerprints burned away long ago, Sterling is a gratefully loyal hotel staffer with a reasonably well-paid position supplemented by tips as well as food, drink, and her own small suite. Her work wardrobe consists of brightly colored form-fitting suit dresses with a tightly cinched corset worn over the dress, topped with a blazer, thigh-high lacy stockings, and comfortable high-heeled Mary Janes to complete the “business sexy” look for her barely five-foot-tall voluptuous figure. Completely at home with old-fashioned grandeur, she is familiar with all the regulars and capably handles newcomers and the occasional tourist. Discretion being paramount, daily staff notes are burned at shift changes.
On a fateful Thursday night with a stag bachelor party in full swing, her former lover Hedy, the top earner in Madame Weiss’s escort service, arrives on the arm of an obviously wealthy and even more obviously drunken man who registers for the entire night as “Mr. and Mrs. Lime.” The following morning, the pair are found dead, murdered in the still-locked room. Since there are only a few strictly controlled keys, suspicion naturally gravitates to Sterling as the primary suspect.
Hidden Passages and a Twisty Mystery
Uncovering the truth will require an oath of secrecy to be broken. Independently of the two detectives assigned to the case, Sterling, along with fellow hotel employee and flamboyant best friend Fernando, embarks upon a thorough investigation. Murder at the Hotel Orient is teeming with humor, eccentric characters, and revelations of the lascivious predilections of hotel habitués and other clientele. Hidden passages and concealed rooms are discovered along with decades-old surprises revealing a myriad of misbehaviors, which include clandestine government operations, blackmail, espionage, murder, and secretive voyeurs.
Alessandra Ranelli has written a most unusual locked-room mystery that succeeds in titillating and amusing the reader and possibly even enticing confirmed armchair travelers to book a flight for an exploration of old Vienna, although perhaps booking a more conventional hotel.
About Alessandra Ranelli:
Alessandra Ranelli is a queer American writer living in Vienna, Austria. Murder at the Hotel Orient is her first crime novel. She has the full support of the real Hotel Orient, and has been allowed access to all its rooms, even the secret ones. As part of her extensive book research, she left her career as a pastry chef and became a hotel receptionist. She is currently writing her second novel. Alessandra is known for her New York Times Modern Love essay “Two Kisses We Never Talked About.”
