"The Hitchcock Hotel" by Stephanie Wrobel

 

I'm a big Hitchcock fan, so the blurb sold me on it. And the cover is fantastic! A Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda, a locked room mystery, a reunion gone wrong? Count me in!

The first act opens with a crow and comes to a full circle with a murder of crows. Alfred Smettle, the creepy owner of a Hitchcock-themed hotel, invites his five estranged college friends for a weekend stay to celebrate the anniversary of his hotel. The hotel is in the White Mountains, near Reville, the university they all attended, and gives off "Shining" and "Psycho" vibes. The hotel is full of memorabilia plus an aviary with fifty crows no less!

We meet Danny, Alfred's creepy middle-aged housekeeper, Zoe - an alcoholic chef, TJ, a bodyguard, Julius - a rich man and the clown of the group, Samira - who is married and runs a successful sex toy business, and Grace - a successful hedge fund manager. Alfred plans to right old wrongs when inviting his friends over, but as the saying goes, "Man Plans, and God Laughs". Odd occurrences occur, and pretty soon, there is a body as appropriate to a Hitchcock set.

I loved the book, the setting, the Hitchcock references, the foreshadowing, and the slowly built suspense. The crows and the Hitchcock-esque vibes added to the creepy atmosphere. The book is organized like a movie script, and I liked the Hitchcock quotes inserted between the acts. Wrobel paints the Hitchcock Hotel with vivid strokes, making it a place readers will yearn to visit on one hand, and a place they should stay clear of on the other hand.

The book alternates between Alfred's first-person POV (I loved the Norman Bates vibes), and the guests' third-person POV, including flashbacks to their college days. The cast is well- drawn, and each character has his or her style. All have secrets, some more serious than others, and none of them are likable.

The book was well-written, cleverly plotted, and full of twists and turns. The pacing is slow in the beginning but gains momentum as the plot unfolds. This lets the reader get familiar with the setting and the backstories of the characters and allows the suspense to build up into the action. The book is not overwhelmingly scary, but then scary is overrated.

While I did suspect the identity of the perpetrator, I didn't guess the motive, and I didn't see some of the twists coming. I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend the book to fans of the genre who don't mind flawed and unlikable protagonists and like their revenge served cold.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc.  All opinions are my own.

* For more info about the book: "The Hitchcock Hotel" by Stephanie Wrobel