Book Review: Room 706 by Ellie Levenson

Kate is trapped in a hotel that’s under siege. She should be making her way home to her loving husband, Vic, and their two adored children. Instead, she’s stuck in a room with the man she’s been having an affair with. How will she explain to Vic what she’s doing in a hotel in the middle of the day? And if the worst happens, will her husband understand how she ended up there? More importantly, will he forgive her? As she hides from the attackers, Kate begins to reflect on the choices that led her to this desperate moment, forcing her to confront what, and who, really matters to her.

Usually with book reviews there’s at least a couple of paragraphs devoted to a novel’s plot. But Ellie Levenson’s Room 706 doesn’t have a complicated storyline or an expansive list of names to remember. It’s the very definition of a character driven novel, one that’s tautly written and entirely centred around one woman’s innermost thoughts. Readers don’t experience the siege beyond Kate’s experience of it, which is limited to her being holed up in a hotel room with her emotionally detached lover, trying to gauge the situation from what she can hear behind a door or what’s being posted on social media. The sense of fear and claustrophobia arises not because of the action but due to the total lack of it. The attackers could be anywhere in the hotel. They could have guns or bombs. Kate could be seconds away from rescue, or hours, or she might not be rescued at all. It’s the not knowing that creates the tension here.

Contrasting to Kate’s panic-inducing present are flashbacks to her past. We see how she met her husband in Italy, how she was welcomed into his family, how she fell in love with him and eventually married him. We play witness to all the key moments in their relationship – the joys, the heartaches, the vows, the children – and in the process try to understand why Kate embarked on her affair. The answers, as in life, are nuanced and not easy to identify with, even less so if you’re not a married woman with young children. But Levenson never victimises or villainises her protagonist, and that’s what allows readers to emphasise with Kate, even when we can’t understand why she’s risked everything she holds dear for an affair with a man she doesn’t love.

Kate’s search into her own psyche is complex but the one thing that remains unwavering is her love for her family. The past chapters that give glimpses into Kate’s life with Vic are the most compelling parts of the book, turning what could have been a typical suspense story into a novel with a beautiful beating heart. Despite facing his own psychological struggles, Vic is a bright ball of light throughout. He’s a good husband, a good father, a good man. Why, then, isn’t he and the wonderful life they’ve built together enough? This essential question echoes through the book as Levenson explores the intricacies of life and death, marriage and desire, motherhood and identity.

A morally ambiguous character like Kate will always be divisive. She’s messy, vulnerable and selfish. She’s also caring, proactive and devoted to the people she loves. Above everything, she’s deeply human and her unapologetic, introspective journey is both poignant and absorbing. If you’re looking for an atypical love story with an element of suspense, Room 706 will make you ponder what you might do in Kate’s situation, whilst making you eternally grateful that you’re not.

★★★★

Room 706 was published by Headline on 15 January 2026