Ruth Lauren's crime scene investigators

A hotbed of magic, a crime, and three children on the quest for justice – Murder at Hotel Marvelo is an otherworldly feast

Where do witches, sorcerers, sprites and the rest go on holiday? Why, Hotel Marvelo of course, a super-discreet and family-owned luxury retreat where – provided they hang up spell-making powers at the door – they can enjoy time out from hubble and bubble. It’s a brilliant conceit in a novel that delivers magic and mystery in cauldrons.

But how did the idea begin – because it is, let’s face it, out there? “The first inkling of Hotel Marvelo came to me when I was watching a John Wick film,” says author Ruth Lauren. The show she was watching featured The Continental, a place where hitmen went to rest. It certainly was not suitable for 8+ readers but did fire up a brilliant idea. “What if there was a hotel for worn out witches who just need a break? What if no magic was allowed in the hotel so overworked griffins could relax? And what if a magicide happened in this supposed haven?” she says.

Ruth Lauren is no stranger to magical tales, and she works quickly – typically over three to four months from idea to completion and with no fixed map at the start. But she’s painstaking in pulling all that together. There’s a real sense of place in Hotel Marvelo –useful plans, maps of the grounds and forest, and a ‘who’s who’ of key characters to set the scene. The hotel internal plans, in particular, are a pleasure, giving would-be detectives a way of systematically navigating spaces and places integral to the crime.

“The hotel is as much a character as the Marvelo children are. It’s integral to the plot, so I wanted the reader to feel as though they’re right there, checking in to Hotel Marvelo,” she says. “A murder mystery is all about who was where at what point in order for the case to be solved so I wanted readers to be able to picture Hotel Marvelo with as much clarity as possible.”

Ruth Lauren's crime scene investigators — The hotel where wizards and other spooks go to retreat from spell-making routines becomes the scene of a dastardly crime.

There are also background details adding a frisson of otherworldliness – the Wardings at the hotel doors and runes in the grounds to prevent covert magic-making among guests, plus accommodation to suit every wizardly preference – a turret for sibling witches to haunt, for instance, and ‘aquatic chambers’ for worn out sprites on vacay.

When the crime happens – to a hapless wizard dressed in pedestrian sports gear and enjoying spa time – the investigation begins. Detective Bianco from Magicide, a faun with neatly trimmed hooves, a smart suit and officious manner, is quick to draw conclusions. Hotel Marvelo proprietors Ida and Caspian are carted off for further questioning. The Marvelos, after all, are the only ones who know how to circumvent the runes and Wardlings and perform magic in this space.

This leaves our three young protagonists with the task of solving the magicide to save their parents. Finnian, the oldest, is the methodical one, also most invested in the hotel, which one day he hopes to run just like his ancestors. Juniper is fast and fearless – sometimes a bit scatty – while their little sister Teddy doesn’t speak but is awfully good at detail.

The trio are part of a blended family – so recognisably normal in this otherworldly place – and also neurodiverse. “The fact that Finnian, Juniper and Teddy are so different and yet such a great team is created in part by their sibling bond and in part by their neurodiversity (Juniper is coded ADHD and Teddy coded autistic).The Marvelo siblings wouldn’t solve the mystery and (spoiler) save the day, if they weren’t a neurodiverse trio,” says Ruth Lauren.

“Finnian’s caution, logic and knowledge compliments Juniper’s full-of-ideas enthusiasm and energy. And neither of them would get anywhere without Teddy and the way she views the world, the details she notices and the connections she makes that no one else does.”

It is no coincidence that neurodiverse children are central characters. Ruth Lauren was diagnosed autistic shortly before she embarked on the story and her four children are also neurodivergent. “So I suppose you could say that creating diverse characters is something that it finally felt ok for me to do – in fact more than ok, something that I felt was deeply important. Kids need a variety of exciting, thought-provoking, engaging stories, with both neurotypical and neurodivergent characters, because in the real world that’s what the rest of their lives will look like.”

“The hotel is as much a character as the Marvelo children are. It’s integral to the plot, so I wanted the reader to feel as though they’re right there”

Just as Finnian, Juniper and Teddy have their quirks, so too Hotel Marvelo’s residents – the romantic yearnings of alchemist Miss Romunculus, the indeterminate age and wizardly status of concierge Mortimus and the weird sounds made by the longtime-guest banshee. It adds layers of fun and loads on the intrigue.

There’s rich use of language – with complex words for this age group – as Juniper regularly tries out spectaculars (almost Mrs Malaprop style) and Finnian then helps by confirming the exact right word. For Ruth Lauren, this is critical for a good story. “I often learn new words when I’m reading. So when I’m writing, I use a word because it’s the right one for the job,” she says. “Using words is a delight, and it can be a joy to find a delicious new word just as much as it is to read the next twist in a murder mystery.”

Words add layers, but this is at heart a classic story of magic, family and good triumphing over evil. The author makes no apology for that. “Decades later, I still want to visit Narnia, the Faraway Tree, The Hundred Acre Wood,” she says. “Those places, those adventures, captured my imagination.”

So too, Hotel Marvelo – this world’s wildest hotel experience. Who wouldn’t love to pack their bags, hang up their spell-making kit at the door and check in?