Martin Summer

Martin Summer is the guest staying in room 211 ("Honor") during the events of Hotel Dusk. He is the author of the bestselling novel The Secret Word, which also happens to be the topic his conflict is centered around.

Background
Martin wanted to be a novelist since he was young. He went to a university and then got a job writing for a magazine, but as the years went on, his dreams of finishing a novel began to fade. It was around this time that he met his friend Alan Parker. The two frequented the same cafes and bonded over how much they had in common.

Alan also hoped to become a novelist, although he did not know this was Martin's dream as well. At one point, Alan let Martin read a manuscript he planned to enter into a writing contest. It was titled The Secret Word. Martin was amazed at its quality, and overcome with envy. In a fit of jealousy, he typed up the work, submitted it under his own name, and was named the winner. Devastated by this betrayal, Alan disappeared. Martin has been searching for him for ten years as of Hotel Dusk.

Since the publication of The Secret Word, Martin continued to write novels, although each did more poorly than the last, and none lived up to the success of the first book.

At one point, Martin's assistant, Dan, found the notebook containing Alan's original manuscript of The Secret Word. Martin paid Dan a large sum of money to stay silent, and had him mail the notebook to Hotel Dusk. He chose the location because Alan had mentioned how special it was to him.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215
After Louis accidentally delivers both Martin and Kyle the wrong packages, Kyle heads down to the front desk to complain. As he tells Rosa what happened, Martin phones the front desk about the mixup, and says he will bring the package he received to 215.

When they first meet, Kyle remarks that Martin's name sounds familiar, and Martin informs him that he's an author. He will then give Kyle his package, and Kyle will hand over the notebook. Martin becomes engrossed in flipping through it until asked to leave.

The next time they see each other is just after Kyle finishes dinner. Martin will ask if Kyle saw anything else in the package - namely, a bookmark. Kyle agrees to look for it later. Rosa will also approach Kyle around this point and ask him to get Martin's autograph for her.

Trivia

 * He is also the author of The Angel Whispers.