Review: Murders, Murders...Metro Star Murders
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 13, 2014
Metro Star Hotel boasts the reputation of a 4 to 5 star hotel in all its glory. "We take the comfort of our guests very seriously and our staff is here to make your stay as comfortable as possible." The irony however, is that amidst its splendor and high reputation, lies secrets and deep rooted issues which the hotel keeps absorbing from its surrounding metropolitan environs ...until it explodes into Metro Star Murders, another thrilling, crime fiction by James Kipling.In true Kipling style, there are a number of problems lurking in the hotel's corridors that keep management and police on their toes, to iron out, in order to track down the serial killer. Who dun it? As the body count rises, the staff members are brought under scrutiny and the sentiment "once one thing happens, something else is sure to follow it up and it's usually much worse." manifests itself.These murders threaten the 4 to 5 star reputation of the hotel and kick up a lot of dust bringing some dark controversies to light. Why would the hotel want to have security cameras in every room when all sorts of antics and perversions take place behind closed doors?; `Prostitutes' are regulars at the hotel; there's a chef with a past of drug and alcohol abuse; there are illegal immigrants working on the night shift who are being paid less than minimum wage; the state of the equipment in the restaurant harbors the spread of bacteria; and all in the name of relaxation and "feeling comfortable enough to do whatever they want to without worrying about being judged,".  There is a lot of dirt and grime that need to be cleaned up to make the hotel sparkle again...but can it?In a twisted way, the author throws in a satirical perspective on the situation by paralleling the gravity of death and murder with the hotel's advertisement beckoning potential guests.  What's the message? You can take care of the symptoms i.e. refurbish the kitchen, hire natives for the night shift etc. but unless the cause is addressed, then you are only putting band aid on a festering sore and the more things change the more they remain the same. So...although the public is encouraged to trust the staff at the hotel to provide an experience unlike anything they'll ever find in town, the hotel will always remain an experience truly worth dying for!