The Launch Party

by Lauren A. Forry

Agatha Christie meets Andy Weir in the ultimate locked room mystery set in the first hotel on the moon.

FEATURED IN THE EVENING STANDARD'S BOOKS TO WATCH IN 2023.

'A truly dastardly, devilish and downright terrific murder mystery that's unputdownable' JONATHAN WHITELAW, author of The Bingo Hall Detectives

'The ultimate locked room mystery - an out-of-this-world And Then There Were None' FIONA LEITCH, author of The Cornish Wedding Murder

THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME. YOU'D DIE TO BE THERE.

Ten lucky people have won a place at the most exclusive launch event of the the grand opening of the Hotel Artemis, the first hotel on the moon. It's an invitation to die for. As their transport departs for its return to Earth and the doors seal shut behind them, the guests take the next leap for mankind.

However, they soon discover that all is not as it seems. The champagne may be flowing, but there is no one to pour it. Room service is available, but there is no one to deliver it. Besides the ten of them, they are completely alone.

When one of the guests is found murdered, fear spreads through the group. But that death is only the beginning. Being three days' journey from home and with no way to contact the outside, can any of the guests survive their stay?

Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley, Anthony Horowitz and Hanna Jameson.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2023

About the author

Lauren A. Forry was brought up in the woods of Bucks County, Pennsylvania where her FBI agent father and book-loving mother raised her on a diet of The X-Files and RL Stine. After earning her BA in Cinema Studies from New York University, she spent some time in film production before moving to London where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Kingston University. There she was awarded the Faber and Faber Creative Writing MA Prize for her first horror novel, The Compulsion. Her short stories have since been published by Brick Moon Fiction, Lamplight Magazine, and in multiple sci-fi and horror anthologies. She currently resides in the woods but can, on occasion, be found in the quieter parts of London.

Reviews

[Horror Sickness · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5*

A murder mystery to be solved in a luxury hotel on the moon just sounded so exciting. And even though I was having a good time when I started it, my interest also started declining before hitting the halfway mark.

We have a group of ten strangers that have won a trip to the moon to be the first guests in the first ever hotel on the moon. The hotel offers many activities and even moonwalks.

The ten guests are equally nervous and excited to go to this amazing trip that is a one in a lifetime experience.

However once they get to the hotel they realize that they are alone, trapped inside the hotel with no communication with Earth. On top of that after the first night, someone has been murdered.

I truly wanted to love this because a murder mystery set in a secluded hotel on the moon where ten strangers are trapped with a dead body....I mean, it just sounds so good.

One of the ten guests is a detective so she will become a main character here trying to solve the murder before they can get any help from Earth. That is, if help will ever come in time.

The book was a constant investigation and tried to keep all characters as people that had something to hide to create suspicion in all of them.

However for me the characters at times were blending in together too much and apart from 3 or 4 that I could always tell apart, the rest were too similar to me and it was hard to get into the story and the investigation and really have a good time. I also have to mention that a specific character was really racist and in my opinion for no reason. It did not had a true impact on the plot so I thought was unnecessary.

On top of that the setting on the moon was not truly exploited. There is so much more that could have been done with this. Apart from one thing that might be relevant to the moon setting, this could have easily been a murder mystery set on a cruise, an isolated island or a mansion.

[Dea꧂ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The synopsis was the most interesting thing about this book and the confusing ending added nothing to the story.
Moony Yawn.

[Kelli W · Rating 3 out of 5]

What begins as an intriguing event. Ten characters, all with very different personalities. Shuttled to the moon. For a two-week all-expenses paid vacation of extreme luxury at the brand new Artemis Hotel. A one-of-a-kind experience. At the first hotel built directly on the Moon.

And then someone dies.

All still good at this point.

Then halfway. The story begins its descent of the Hill we call "Lame & Mediocrity".

2.5 more accurate.

[WhatMichaelaReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for a review

A hotel on the moon. A very interesting premise but without that this book is just your standard locked in room mystery. There are a lot of characters with little development which meant I found it difficult to distinguish who was who. Each chapter contained multiple POV's which I also found confusing. One of the characters name also changed from Frau Ritcher to Charlotte multiple times (???)

The big "reveal" also didn't happen until around 90% and in my opinion was very poorly done. Plots were not explained fully and it was very much rushed over. Also the explanation of the staff being missing made 0 sense.

[Josephine Jarman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The burb makes this sound like it is so much more. Its is just awho dobe it based on a hotel on the moon. The narrator goes a good job of keeping the characters distinguished.
The main issue with this is there is no character arc we only start to learn about them from about 85%. The pacing is off and rhe plot diffucult to enjoy as it was not revealed too late. It waa a fab idea just purely executed.
I am sure this could appeal to readers who like a long drawn out story with no plot reveal and little character background. It was over too quickly when the plot was revealed.
Thank you netgallery publisher and author and narrator for my arc. Sadly not one for me but had so much promise. A sad 3 star im afraid but i can still see there may be an audience for this.

[Nemo ☠️ (pagesandprozac) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty fun mystery-thriller, but the whole Being-On-The-Moon thing just seemed really contrived. There was no REASON for it to be on the Moon, and it just felt redundant. The red herrings also didn't make sense, as though they were thrown in there simply to be red herrings, but not in a way that made any particular sense.

It was fun and paced well, hence the three stars, but it just seemed a little half-baked.

[Učitaj se! | Martina Štivičić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Radnja u kojoj grupa ljudi bude smještena u izolaciju i u toj se izolaciji suoči s ubojstvom nije neka novost u svijetu krimića, no Lauren Forry u ovom je romanu otišla korak dalje - svoju je grupu likova smjestila na najizoliranije moguće mjesto - Mjesec.

Na žalost moje ljubavi prema SF-u i svemiru općenito, tek vrlo mala količina radnje odvija se izvan konkretnog mjesta na Mjesecu na koje je radnja u biti smještena, a to je luksuzni Hotel Artemis. Iako se spisateljica zbilja potrudila dočarati okružje samog hotela, opisujući ga u detalje, sam je Mjesec ovdje poslužio tek kao jedna vrlo luksuzna kulisa. Ono što ovaj superluksuzni hotel ipak odvaja od njemu sličnih na Zemlji, u koje također teško da će zalutati obični smrtnici, je ta potpuna izoliranost i osjećaj opasnosti koji odvojenost od drugih sa sobom nosi. Koga pozvati u pomoć kad je najbliža pomoć udaljena 380.000 kilometara?

Desetero sretnika slučajno je odabrano putem nagradnog natječaja da budu prvi gosti prvog ikad hotela na Mjesecu. Svi troškovi plaćeni i prilika koja se dobiva jednom u životu (ako i tada), nešto je - naravno! - što se ne propušta. No, vrlo brzo nakon dolaska u sam hotel, ovih će destero ljudi shvatiti da nešto nije u redu. Ipak, neće početi odmah paničariti - panika i strah će se pojaviti tek kad jedan (prvi?) od njih završi mrtav.

Deset odabranih likova u ovom romanu i karakterno su i u odnosu na društveni status i porijeklo posve različiti. Kada se suoče s ubojstvom, a prije toga i drugim bizarnostima njihovog boravka na Mjesecu (koji je trebao biti odmor iz snova, a ne noćnih mora), i vi ćete se, kao čitatelji, početi pitati što je to što ih povezuje i što se ovdje uopće događa.

Zbog opisa radnje i broja likova ovaj su roman odmah dočekale neizbježne usporedbe s Agathom Christie i njezinih Deset malih crnaca, a zbog mjesta radnje i naziva samog hotela i s Andyem Weirom i njegovim romanom Artemis. Ako mene pitate, Forry je puno bliže Weiru nego Agathi, iako sve troje imaju svoje stilove pisanja koje je uopće izlišno uspoređivati. Kažem ovo jer mnogi pročitaju usporedbe i očekuju upravo Agathu Christie, no ne ide to tako.

U početku, dok upoznajete okružje i same likove, te se suočavate s bizarnostima njihovog putovanja, imate dojam kao da se dosta dugo ništa zapravo ne događa. Klupko koje je ovdje zamotano sporo se počinje odmatati, i treba mu neko vrijeme da dobije na brzini, koja ide usporedo s povećanjem količine čudnih događaja oko likova. Naravno da svatko od likova ima i svoje neke tajne, koje nije spreman ni s kim podijeliti, najmanje s hrpom neznanaca, od kojih je netko možda i ubojica. Rasplet se, ipak, dosta brzo odvije, a cijela ta priča oko raspleta još je jedna suluda bizarnost.

Kraj me nije baš oduševio, moguće i zato jer sam ja (ne znam zašto) neke likove doživjela kao puno mlađe ili starije nego što su zapravo bili, pa mi se nisu uklapali u raspletnu priču, koja mi je bila malo too much, pa samim time ne baš uvjerljiva. Iako, teško je suditi o tome koliko daleko su neki spremni ići samo da bi dokazali svoje... nešto.

Iz razloga koje ćete skužiti kada krenete čitati (da ne spojlam :)), ovu bi se priču moglo opisati kao Big Brother (ili neki drugi reality show) na Mjesecu. Top lokacija, predivna scenografija, raznoliki natjecatelji... Samo što iz ovog realitya ne izađu svi - živi.

[Karen Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The synopsis describes this book as ‘Agatha Christie meets Andy Weir’. It’s not. It’s a typical whodunnit that happens to be set in a hotel on the moon. Not sure why. Stranding the protagonists on a remote island or even a luxury cruise would have suited the plot just as well. The massive number of improbabilities, and the sheer level of logistics required to ‘set the scene’ are stalwarts of the locked room whodunnit genre and are therefore not just to be accepted but expected (no matter how far-fetched!).
But by setting it on the moon, the author crosses over into sci-fi. There’s very little attempt to introduce futuristic ideas or technology, no stretching of the imagination from ‘this is what we know now’ into the ‘but what if…?’ that is the cornerstone of quality sci-fi. It seems to be set in the very near future or even present day given a few of the references.
There is very little attempt to account for the ‘real science’ involved in getting to and moving about in one-sixth g. And a lot of it is wrong. Semi-spoiler so stop reading now if you need to: if you step off a cliff on the moon, you’re going to fall. Just like on earth, only you’ll accelerate more slowly.
If the science side doesn’t interest(or bother) you, it’s a decent whodunnit, albeit with a very convoluted denouement.

[MikeR · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a literary world where everyone’s scrambling to re-write Agatha Christie (now conveniently copyright-free),

where isolated settings fall from the sky like confetti,

where every female protagonist is a “troubled-but-stunning” emotional Rubik’s cube, crafted lovingly by the likes of Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena, Alice Feeney...

where every character is cut from cookie dough (Cough Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, Sarah Pearse... you know what you did.)

Lauren A. Forry dares to do the unthinkable.
She reaches for the stars — or at least the moon —
and launches us into a locked-room mystery set in literal lunar orbit,
armed not with an elegant sleuth in pearls,
but with a grumpy, antisocial detective who'd rather be anywhere else — preferably with gravity.

Welcome to The Launch Party. Buckle in. There's no escape pod. 🚀💀

In The Launch Party by Lauren A. Forry, ten competition winners board a luxury spaceflight to attend the grand opening of Hotel Artemis — the first five-star resort on the moon. But instead of canapés and moonwalking with billionaires, they’re treated to a locked-room murder, no working comms, and not a single staff member in sight. Hope you packed your panic meds.



Enter Penelope Strand — our lunar buzzkill and reluctant heroine.

She’s the kind of protagonist you’d avoid sitting next to on a flight, let alone trust to keep it together during a murder mystery… on the moon. Prickly, emotionally padlocked, Penelope isn’t here to make friends — or teach you about healing.

Unlike the usual thriller heroines (Foley, Ware, Feeney, Pearse — yes, we see you), Penelope isn’t a hot mess begging for your sympathy. She’s a cold read with no interest in personal growth. And that’s exactly what makes her brilliant.

Forry doesn’t ask us to love Penelope — she dares us to sit with the discomfort of a woman who makes things harder, not easier. She’s not just “difficult.” She’s the reason other people’s jobs get harder. And like in real life, that makes folks twitchy. Watching the characters try (and fail) to vibe with her is half the fun — it’s awkward, it’s messy, and it’s gloriously honest.




Survey says… modern thriller clichés!

Freida McFadden, Lisa Jewell, Shari Lapena, Alice Feeney — come on down! You're playing Thriller Family Feud!



Top answers on the board:

✅ Emotionally unstable woman with great hair

✅ Gaslighting man with the personality of a wet sock

✅ Flashbacks so dramatic they deserve their own spin-off

✅ At least two bottles of wine (bonus points if red)

✅ A twist only possible if nobody owns a phone or common sense

Now here comes Lauren A. Forry — buzzer in hand, side-eye loaded — and instead of playing along, she flips the game.

In The Launch Party, those tropes are evident, sure. But they’re dressed for satire, not sincerity. The “wine mom in crisis” is replaced with a protagonist who’s just over it and also hates wine...The Horror (at least she doesn't put ice in it). The misogynist men and gaslighting? None. Flashbacks? Barely there. And instead of yet another creaky old manor house, we get a hotel. On the moon. With murder.


The 10 Competition Guests at Hotel Artemis
A locked-room murder on the moon needs a truly intergalactic cast — and Lauren A. Forry delivers a spaceship full of personalities, tropes, and just enough eyebrow-raising dynamics to keep it spicy. Here's who made the lunar cut:

🕵️‍♀️ Detective Penelope Strand
Our narrator and reluctant sleuth. Sharp-eyed, sardonic, and emotionally undercooked — she's here to solve the murder, not make friends.

💪 Dr. Erik Wyss
The “Swiss doctor with the Greek physique.” He’s charming, chiselled, and rocking an unplaceable accent. Basically here to make everyone forget how bleak space lighting is. Women deserve a little objectification too, okay?



💼 Dai Uchida
Japanese billionaire, CEO, and human embodiment of executive presence. He's got that “I own the moon now” energy. Sharp suit, sharper stare. Wealthy, powerful, and distinctly not Western — which feels refreshingly rare in thrillers.

🚬 Frau Charlotte Richter
A walking United Nations violation in heels, Charlotte is the kind of character who manages to embody racism, rudeness, chain-smoking, and casual elitism — all wrapped neatly in a German power suit. She’s less “tough love” and more “verbal slap in the face,” and every line she delivers feels like it should come with a diplomatic apology. Forry doesn’t so much tiptoe the line of satire here as goose-step across it with full Teutonic flair.

🎓 Professor Alison Crane
Twenty-something psychology professor with looks and a brain like a bear trap. She ticks the “hyper-competent millennial woman” box and the “could definitely snap you like a twig if she wanted” box. Smart girls, rise up...



📺 Robert “Bobby” Rannells
C-grade reality TV royalty (in the loosest possible sense). Picture Big Brother meets Survivor meets “that guy your cousin follows on TikTok for some reason.” Bobby is loud, spray-tanned, and still coasting off his brief moment in the cultural sun like it’s 2012 and hashtags are currency.

As the first murder victim, Bobby’s fate serves up a deliciously deadpan commentary on fame-chasing, particularly the kind that involves turning personal tragedy, AKA "Victim" (surely that can't be a coincidence), into one last bid for relevance. Is it satire? Is it social critique? Is it just karma for the cologne? Either way, it’s oddly poetic.



🧾 Jackson Smith
Canadian accountant with a crush the size of the moon on Bobby Rannells. Soft-spoken, socially awkward, and low-key giving “number-one fan with a spreadsheet.” A subtle and sweet nod to queer rep that isn’t tokenized or tragic.

🕍 Sasha Eris
Church architect, unapologetic aesthete, and unbothered by billionaires. She’s here for the experience and the vibes, and we’re here for her. Calm, cool, and clearly above this murder mess.

📚 Freddy Nwankwo
New Yorker, mystery novel enthusiast, and unofficial Poirot-in-training. Bonus points for reading "Murder on the Orient Express" and "And Then There Were None" before a group trip where someone dies. (Manifestation or meta? You decide.) A refreshing Black male character who’s thoughtful, nerdy, and not criminalized.

💄 Tonya Burton
The wild card of the group, journalist and "sidekick" to Penelope. We don’t get much detail on her — other than the fact that she’s definitely screaming when the body drops. That said, even scream queens deserve a seat at the lunar table. Representation? Check.

Is Forry deliberately spoofing the genre? Honestly, I don’t know.



It could be intentional satire. It could be a glorious accident. But I was too entertained to care. She writes the genre’s signature mental eye-rolls into the story itself — and lets us stay in the room to laugh at them.

And here’s the best part: for all its absurdity, it’s actually a solid mystery. The pacing is tight, the suspects are weird in all the right ways, and the ending sticks the landing harder than a moon rover. Readers expecting a Freida McFadden-style twist-a-thon might be disappointed that their favorite tropes are being gently roasted. But if your balloon popped, maybe it was overinflated to begin with.

Final Verdict: Come for the space murder. Stay for the satire. And please, someone get Penelope a drink — she’s earned it.

[Quill&Queer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with reading Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None is that I left the story needing even more books like it. Unfortunately, every book I've read so far that was inspired by it just cannot seem to replicate that intense, page turning obsession I felt waiting to see who was next.

The Launch Party has a solid stab at using a fairly unique setting - a hotel, on the moon, in the style of a spaceship. This was used very well for the most part, but often felt like there was something missing to give us a full picture of the environment they found themselves in.

The opening murder is incredibly well staged, the dramatic flagpole sticking out of the dead body, boldly proclaiming "THIS IS FOR MANKIND". However, the ending was a confusing mess, with the pieces of the puzzle coming together to reveal some truly ridiculous answers.

[Morana Mazor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puno je knjiga napisano o grupici ljudi na izoliranom mjestu koju zadesi niz ubojstava... Prvo nam, vjerujem, svima padne na pamet jedno od najjačih djela Agathe Christie, Deset malih crnaca.
I ovdje imamo istu šablonu samo što se spisateljica ipak dosjetila nečeg, ako se ne varam, do sad ne opisanog- radnju je, naime, stavila, ni više ni manje, nego u (prvi, ekskluzivni) hotel na Mjesecu!
Jest da na trenutke zaboravimo da smo tamo jer se sve odvija u hotelu, ali ipak, tri zvjezdice zbog originalnosti. LJubitelji žanra, vjerujem, mogu pretpostaviti što ih očekuju, pa tko voli.... :))

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ultimate locked room mystery. A five star hotel on Moon. Ten lucky winners are the first guests. Strangely there's no staff. And then the murders started.

Unfortunately the author didn't make full use of the setting; there's no evil AI, no low gravity related problems. Why not set it on a remote island? And how did they ship all the luxury stuff to the Moon?

All characters sounded very similar, kudos to the narrator for giving each of them individual voices.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great. It was mediocre.
The story had such potential, but it kinda just stayed at one level throughout, then fizzled out with the reveal.
The idea behind this book is amazing, a murder mystery on the moon? Hell yes! But sadly, it fell a little flat, it was interesting enough to keep at it, but it never felt too exciting. How exciting does a murder mystery on the moon sound? Pretty darn exciting, but somehow it was lost. It was a pretty straightforward story, if a little confusing at times. It wasn't fast paced, it kinda just had a steady rhythm, then the reveal happened and my only reactions were "okay?" and "is that it?". Again, not bad, just ridiculous and lacking.
The characters, never really got fleshed out enough, so I didn't really connect to any or had a much of a liking to. I didn't mind a few, but they were all mostly either annoying me or just there.
I did have hopes for this book as the premise did sound amazing, but it didn't live up to its potential.
2 stars as I would say it was readable and enjoyable to a point, but forgettable.

[Flohallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed reading it. The first few pages weren't as exciting as I wanted them to be, the protagonist in the first 50 pages had an unclear motivation. And I had troubles distinguishing between some of the characters up until the very end. And while the outcome was well explained and there were some twists and turns until the very end, I feel like the reasons for the murderer weren't very logical and the whole operation unrealistic. Nevertheless, despite these shortcomings I enjoyed this whodunnit and for the last 75% of the book I always wanted to keep reading.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this one and thought I was going to love it, but ended up feeling bored throughout the majority of the book. I almost didn’t finish it but kept hoping it would get better. Very bland in my opinion and didn’t feel very different or stand out from other books in this genre like I thought it would.

[Lee Prescott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whodunnit set on the moon that starts off very well but then falls into plot twist and murder-motivational absurdity towards the end. Enjoyable enough on the beach fare.

[Katherine "Kj" Joslin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little slow to start but I enjoyed it overall. The story was well done and I loved the touch of Agatha Christie mystery (closed room mystery), it was intriguing.

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Launch Party could have been an entertaining mystery-on-the-moon if it wasn't for the egregious racism.

It's so badly handled by both the author and the characters that I found it distracting and enraging. It didn't even have any bearing on the plot and went almost entirely unchallenged.

The characters were mostly stereotypes, and I found it difficult to care about any of them, which was a shame because I quite enjoyed floating around the hotel itself.

A luxury hotel on the moon is an absolutely ideal location for a locked door murder mystery, so it's a shame that this book didn't deliver for me.

Despite its problems, there were things I liked about The Launch Party. The first two-thirds kept me guessing, and I did find myself theorising. There aren't enough moon-based murder mysteries out there yet, so I'm happy that it's finally happening!

If only they'd taken the time to consult a sensitivity reader, and do a bit more character-work on Penelope, because this really did have potential.


*

Also, these are the descriptions of the women:

"the PR woman was young, blonde and empty behind the eyes"

"she had a body in her twenties - athletic with the type of posture only taught in finishing schools - but a face in her fifties, filled with worry and frown lines"

"she'd pictured a frumpy, older woman in a tweed suit with a set of pearls not a twenty-something with the body of an Olympic skier"

"Sasha - dark hair and eyes - looked and dressed much younger than she was."

Each time we get told how old / interchangeable a woman looked, I found it harder to ignore. Can we leave this kind of writing back in the 90s, please?

[H. J. Reynolds · Rating 2 out of 5]

"People often try to be someone else on holiday, don't they? When they're away from home. Away from the people who know them. And we are far, far away."

2.5 stars

About: Ten strangers win the chance of a lifetime: a two weeks stay on the moon's first luxury hotel. But when they arrive they find themselves even more alone than they expected. With no sign of any staff around they have to fend for themselves, and tensions soon explode after one of the ten is discovered murdered.

Help is three days away. A murderer is on the loose. And the first victim won't be the last...

Thoughts
I really liked the set-up for this. A murder mystery on the moon, in a creepy luxury hotel, with no access to the outside world/tech and locked in with nine strangers? That's a winning formula and I was definitely interested.

Unfortunately I wasn't too impressed with the execution. The characters read just very flat to me. They all have secrets and come from various backgrounds, but I don't know if it was the dialogue or the way the characters had a habit of talking to themselves when they were alone, but they didn't feel real. I won't go into all ten of the characters but the worst for me were Frau Richter and Uchida. Frau Richter, despite this being set presumably in the future, describes a black character as a 'monkey let out of the zoo' and that's given to us almost immediately after the first murder. There's no subtlety, it's just blatant racism from the get-go and continues. Her character could have been a lot more sinister if her racism had been less overt. Making her sound like she's stepped out of the 1950s when they're on the literal moon was an odd choice.

Uchida is another stereotype, this time of a billionaire. His outrages sounded so exaggerated (e.g. complaining about not having breakfast served directly to his suite when it's obvious there's no staff around). In fact I would have been far more interested in seeing the hotel with the staff around. Uchida's interactions with the staff and his different treatment from the rest of the guests would have added an interesting dynamic.

Minor things that took me out of the story were instances like when Alison gets Neil Armstrong's name incorrect (on a trip to the moon?), or when Uchida claims he went to bed at 3am, 'slept the whole night', and then woke up at 5am... Or the detective being proud of her offline presence that meant she hadn't looked into the terrorist threat before going into space.

Most of the things I didn't like about the story or the inconsistences would have meant nothing if I'd been pulled in by the characters. But I wasn't. Finding out the murderer and their motivations at the end was so unsatisfying. I'd suspected the right person, but there weren't clues throughout the text to give the reader a chance to work out the motive and the motive was pretty unbelievable. The lengths this person went to for 'revenge' really defied belief and how they were helped along with their plan was also bizarre.

Overall, the relationships did not feel like real life, the character development was weak (mostly this was simply the detective overcoming an itinerary of her fears) and no-one had a strong presence. The mystery element does keep you turning the pages and the setting is for sure a great hook, but I was disappointed in how the story ultimately played out.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

Welcome to the chance of a lifetime – a fortnight in the brand sparkly new state-of-the-art hotel ON THE MOON. Yes that’s right, a lunar experience!! Just ten lucky people win the chance to this all expenses paid trip!! Would you enter this amazing opportunity???

Ridley Scott’s Alien may have claimed that In Space No One Can Hear You Scream but at Hotel Artemis, it’s a little different. A scream is a potentially welcome reprieve from the Fly Me To The Moon muzak pumping on through the hotel’s corridors. Don’t get me wrong, a bit of Ol’ Blue Eyes is lovely but on constant repeat might even grate this music lover…

The discovery of a body is not what the prize winners expected … or did they?!? Given the lack of hotel staff, one of them had to be guilty right? It’s not like a random stranger could just sneak onto the moon, into Hotel Artemis and wreak havoc!!!

I got thrown in to meet all ten characters quite quickly which to start with was a little confusing trying to remember who everyone was but as I settled into this interstellar thriller, they became more familiar. Spending considerable time with Detective Penelope (not Penny) Strand gave the tracking of the culprit a level of authenticity. She applied her experience (despite being on a break) of interviewing and crime scene processing to try to solve the murders in space.

The story frequently jumps between the guests’ various perspectives. This give the book pace and kept my thumb tapping my kindle. Just as I settle in to the mindset of a particular prize winner’s thoughts, I’d hit a bit of a cliffhanger and Forry whipped me off to see someone else!

Forry has taken the locked room murder mystery concept and sent it into space. This gives it an extra sense of creepiness as even though the location was essentially a hotel, there is the gentle reminders that this is no ordinary hotel. The whole rescue ship being 3 days away adds to the remoteness. The Launch Party is a chilling celestial take on this classic crime trope and this crime fiction lover loved it!

[The Cookster · Rating 2 out of 5]

My interest was piqued by the premise of this story and I was further encouraged to read it by the suggestion that it is 'perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Anthony Horowitz'. I am very much an admirer of the work of both those writers, but although it is not without merit, this offering from Lauren Forry is certainly not up to the standard of either of those authors.

There are many aspects of the classic murder mystery evident in "The Launch Party". The action takes places in a secluded location - a luxury hotel in space rather than the more conventional country house - and there is a restricted cast of characters, each with some form of hidden secret. On the face of it, the format is not markedly different from the Agatha Christie novels that are referenced in the course of this story. Sadly, the overall product is not able to regularly emulate those classic mysteries in other respects: The protagonists are not particularly well-drawn or memorable; the pace of the novel is too often disappointingly pedestrian; the eventual unravelling of the mystery utilises too many simplistic and convenient plot devices; and, like its outer space setting, it lacks atmosphere.

This is certainly not an awful read and I applaud the author for trying to inject a novel scenario into a very well established genre, but overall it just doesn't deliver on its potential strongly enough, nor as consistently as it should,

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

[Petra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so ready for this reading adventure - a murder mystery in a swanky moon hotel just sounded too good to pass up. The setup was intriguing: ten strangers winning a trip to the moon, the first guests at a fancy lunar hotel with moonwalks and all. The excitement was palpable, and I was on board.

But as the story unfolded, my enthusiasm started to fizzle out. The isolation, the murder, the suspense—it all felt like it was building up to something epic. However, by the last 70 pages as the ending started to reveal, my interest was dwindling, and the ending turned out to be a major disappointment. It left me scratching my head, wondering if I missed a few chapters.
In the first 200 pages of the book, I was hoping that this was not another version of And Then There Were None. At the last 300, I was sad that it wasn't.

The potential was there, no doubt. A murder mystery on the moon? How can it not be good? And for the most part, it was good. Yet, I can't get past how the conclusion didn't tie things up neatly. Or well at all. It's like the story took a detour to the mudland when it had the chance to be something stellar.

A note for myself and all of my Croatian-speaking friends out there: Hana Klak Ustolin doesn't do a good job at translating books. If you can, avoid books edited by her. There is a bunch of uncommonly used words, phrases that seemed off and didn't fit the sentence.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 guests. No staff.

10 people win the ultimate holiday to be the first to stay in the only hotel on the moon.

During the 3 day trip to get there, most begin to pair up. We get to know a few basic facts about each person. There is a billionaire, a reality TV personality plus what appears to be his number one fan, a police officer in the Met, a reporter, a student of criminology from New York plus a few others.

All is going well when they arrive until they realise all of the staff have left. Then one of them is found dead.

Penelope, the detective, begins to investigate the murder. With ‘Fly me to the moon’ playing constantly in the background. Fun at first but the music very soon starts to grate.

Cleverly written and I had no clue what could have happened! The revelations came thick and fast towards the end, then that last chapter had me thinking!

This is the ultimate locked room mystery, set 3 travelling days away on the moon’s only hotel.

The characters were interesting and I enjoyed following Penelope’s investigation. Very Agatha Christie!

[Melina Lobo · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Launch Party" by Lauren A Forry is an exciting outer space murder mystery that initially captivated me with its diverse cast of characters, although it's important to note that there is a problematic character involved. I was initially engrossed by the author's writing style and the intriguing plot, filled with clever clues.

However, my enthusiasm waned when the final reveal occurred. It felt disappointingly simple, lacking the anticipated wow factor. It seemed like the story was hurriedly tied up, detracting from what had been an entertaining book.

In summary, while I did find some enjoyment in "The Launch Party," and it managed to hold my attention, it ultimately fell short, leaving me with an overall average impression. This book had enormous potential to be a great murder mystery, boasting all the necessary elements. I must admit, I'm genuinely disappointed that it didn't live up to my expectations.

[karla_bookishlife · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Launch Party takes closed room murder mystery to another level, completely out of this world! In fact, it is set in space in a newly built space hotel. 10 (un)lucky members of the public have been chosen to experience the hotel in a first of its kind launch party. The guests soon discover that not only is there an absence of media, but the promised hotel staff that are meant to be at their service are missing. When one of the party is found dead, suspected murdered, that can only mean that one of the remaining ten is a murderer. As their numbers dwindle, tensions rise and the stakes get higher, it is a race for survival and a race to finish reading to reveal the truth. The audiobook immerses you fully into the story and is perfect for fans of closed room murder mysteries. #thelaunchparty #laurenaforry #netgalley #closedroommurdermystery

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️
The Launch Party was a traditional locked room mystery, in an out of this world setting - the first hotel on the moon.

Repetitive description with the same features being described in identical ways over and over again. There were 10 main characters, which felt like a lot to keep track of. They did blur into one somewhat. The cast of characters could have been out of an Agatha Christie novel - a billionaire, a celebrity, a journalist, an architect, a police officer, a doctor and a professor, and just like Christie, the conclusion came out of absolutely nowhere.

The plot was very slow paced with all the revelations occurring in the last third, which was unfortunately, a little too much too late.

Trigger warning: racism

[Kathi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The underlying concept of this book is quite unique. Sadly the author missed doing any research at all to even remotely back up her idea.
By example: no explanation on how it is possible to build a hotel on the moon whatsoever.
At least try to make me belive you...
Aside from that the characters lack in depth and perspective and such does the story itself.

Dear Chris, I hope your next book club pick will be much better. :)

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the plot of this, hated the execution! This seemed right up my street, but I found it really difficult to stay engaged and put me in a reading slump…I’m not sure I even understood the ending, nothing really made sense. Disappointed!

[Jo Furniss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced and funny, this thriller takes you to the dark side of the moon