"The Hotel" by Louise Mumford is a chilling and atmospheric thriller. Mumford's storytelling creates a sense of unease as the characters confront the secrets of a seemingly perfect hotel. The novel is a masterclass in suspense and psychological tension, leaving readers with an unsettling feeling that lingers long after the final page. A gripping and mind-bending read.

This is a slow burn mystery, an easy read amongst its genre, good for Spooky season if you want a slower paced thriller. Sadly the twists didn't live up to the premise for me but overall it was enjoyable.

The Hotel is a great read for October. A creepy spooky read . An old hotel with a past. 4 kids go to the hotel and only 3 leave. After 10 years will the truth finally come out about what happened at RavenCliff..

Sadly I DNF (Did not finish) this, I tried to read this several times but I just could not get into it. It was slow-paced and I found myself drifting off in thoughts of other things rather than what was happening. I was hoping it would get faster and more thriller-like but just under halfway through it just wasn't engaging me.

Great book, was easy to get into and kept me on my toes!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Another brilliant book from this great Welsh crime author. The plot is a modern gothic horror centring around four teenagers' 'Blair Witch Project' style home movie where they explored a derelict hotel, Ravencliffe, that was rumoured and one of them disappeared, presumed dead. The film ended up being a huge hit and years later there's a reunion TV show commemorating its anniversary but some of the the remaining three are more keen to take part than the others. Bex only agrees because she wants to investigate what happened to her best friend Leo, who never came home that night. Will going back to the scene of the crime give her answers?

Unputdownable, I raced through it.

Started reading this book with an open mind as to what I might expect. Very long winded in places and struggled to finish.
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for allowing me to read and review this book

The story:
10 years ago, Bex, Leo, Oscar and Richard went to the isolated, abandoned and supposedly haunted Ravencliffe Hotel to tell ghost stories and take some footage to impress future university Film Studies tutors. Only three of them returned…

With the 10-year anniversary of that fateful trip looming, Bex still has no answers about what happened to Leo, her closest childhood friend. Ravencliffe is the last place she wants to return to, but something, or someone, is drawing her back. And this time, she wants answers…

My thoughts:
Having enjoyed author Louise Mumford’s previous book “The Safe House” earlier this year, I was looking forward to reading “The Hotel”; and if anything I enjoyed it even more!

In 1878, Ravencliffe Hotel was intended by owner Reginald Morwood to be the perfect spa retreat. But when the planned train line to Cardigan Bay that would bring all his paying customers from South Wales and beyond is cancelled, Morwood was left in a mountain of debt and took his own life in his hotel office.

The story is duel timeline, and focuses on the events of 10 years ago when the then-18-year-olds Bex, Leo, Oscar and Richard visited the hotel supposedly haunted by Morwood’s ghost; and the present day, and the aftermath of the events that live not only in the memories of the three who walked away, but also the whole world via the cult following the subsequent film using the group’s ‘found footage’ has since attracted.

My suspicions of what really happened 10 years ago shifted as the story progressed, but the ending was so dramatic I raced through the pages of the final quarter of the book without drawing breath. I can see this book as a brilliant adaptation for television, with its ominous setting and hidden secrets making it the perfect autumn/winter thriller. Recommended to fans of psychological thrillers with a good mix of ghostly horror!

I'm in two minds about The Hotel; yes, it's got a great twisty-turny plot, but there are a few flat spots and a couple of easy pick-ups along the way that slightly spoil the ending (no spoilers her though!).

Great concept of taking a "Blair Witch Project" style video outing and re-visiting years later to try and find out what had really happened. The problem is that explaining what all the participants have been doing in. the intervening years early on would mean spoiling the twists and turns along the way. So what we're left with is a bunch of characters who we don't really know enough about to care what happens to them. They end up being very one-dimensional.

The few flat spots in the middle of the book are where Ben goes over how Leo disappeared; it seems like we're going over old ground too often without learning anything new.

That said, it's a good tale and if you're not as picky as me you'll probably love it. And I've no doubt that it will make a cracking tv series/film!

This novel for me was a slow started. Which I don’t necessarily dislike. I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character Bex. The storyline was enjoyable, however I did see the reveal coming before it dropped.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed The Hotel. The plot was entertaining, the setting and mood of the story were strongly crafted, I enjoyed Bex as the FMC, felt genuine mystery and suspense throughout, and the desire to know what happened to Leo kept me invested in the story. The plot was kept entertaining and engaging through an understandable sense of mistrust between Bex and everyone else involved with the reunion movie; you didn’t know who, if anyone, you could trust. The mystery satisfyingly unraveled in the end, with big reveals and plot twists right up until the end, but I felt like some of the most important moments in the plot were lackluster, they just sort of happened, and then the story moved on.

I also would like to have seen more depth in the relationships between the characters. For Bex and Leo to have been good enough friends that she hid out in her house for ten years after his disappearance, I would’ve expected to feel that level of friendship and love, and in the end, I’m still not sure whether the motivation to become a recluse was due to her painful loss of Leo, her best friend, or just the mentally-unbearable mystery of his disappearance and the constant attention from the fans and the media.

This was a moody, thrilling mystery that is perfect for spooky season with an engaging storyline and fresh plot points!

This was my first book by Louise Mumford and I really enjoyed it. It was atmospheric and definitely had several plot twists to keep you on your toes! I think the only reason it wasn’t a five star for me was I found the start a little bit slower and it took me a while to become absorbed but once the twists started coming and the plot developed I was definitely hooked. I liked the spooky and thrilling vibe for sure!

The Hotel - Louise Mumford

I previously read Sleepless by Louise Mumford and found that that book was brilliant and totally not what I was expecting, it gave me chills. So I was super excited to get stuck into this new title by her. I personally found this a little slower of a read but still very enjoyable. I thought the setting was a triumph, it was very atmospheric, I could easily see this made into a film script. Dual timeline and POV's added to the suspense for me. Thanks so much Netgalley and HQ for this e-arc in return for my honest thoughts and opinions.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Hotel by Louise Mumford was an enjoyable read but not quite the mystery I hoped for. There were some good twists throughout, but it was predictable.

Thanks to netgalley for supplying this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This was an atmospheric mystery with twists and turns. I found it a little slow paced in places but it was a solid read.

The hotel - what a high-level thriller that just ticks the box for everything I look for in this genre. Told through a split timeline, it features abandoned islands, missing people, has a slow pace that builds the tension and atmosphere. Couldn't stop reading!

I enjoyed this clever story that moved through two times lines. A group of four friends set out on a trip to an abandoned hotel but only three come home. Years later they return and the story unfolds. A few red herrings and an excellent twist made this a gripping read.

I really struggled to get into this book and in the end even though. Was 80% through I gave up. The book seemed to jump about so hard to follow and it wasn’t really that interesting. Sorry but not for me.

A readable book but with potential to have been much more. I likes the idea of the setting . I feel there could have better twists and the plot was a bit too style for me.

This was a bit of a slow burn but once I got into it I really enjoyed it and it had a lot of what I learn. Dual POV's & timelines, lots of tension and suspense, great characters and an a very eerie creepy setting. An all round good read.