Guess Who

British author McGeorge’s debut thriller falls short of the promise of its impressive setup. One day, Morgan Sheppard, the troubled star of a reality TV program, Resident Detective, who achieved renown after solving a teacher’s murder when he was only 11, awakes to find himself handcuffed to a bed in a London hotel room. With him are five strangers, including an attorney, an actress, and a hotel employee. The room is locked, with no way out, and there’s a bloody corpse in the bathroom. The room’s TV set turns on, and someone wearing a cartoon horse mask announces that one of the five is a murderer—and that Morgan has three hours to solve the killing or the hotel will be blown up. After Morgan persuades the others to free him, he discovers that the dead man is Simon Winter, his former therapist. With the clock ticking down, Morgan tries frantically to identify the murderer and the motive for his captivity. Unfortunately, the resolution comes as a letdown. Still, McGeorge’s gift for creating suspense augurs well for the future. Agent: Hannah Sheppard, DHH Literary Agency (U.K.). (Sept.)