I give this book a solid 4 stars. I found the whole Hitchcock experience to be interesting. The characters were all equally unlikable. I was slightly surprised by the ending. Let’s just say Karma’s a bitch.

Well, this book stirs up conflicting feelings in my mind. As a devoted Hitchcock fan (although I must confess I've never been a great fan of his movie "Rope"), I found great involvement in the book. I'm mostly a "Shadow of a Doubt" and "Rebecca" lover, but I understand why the author, Stephanie Wrobel, chose to reference "Psycho" and "Rope" storylines for the location and crowded characters' similarities.

I truly enjoyed the Hitchcock movie references in this book. If somebody were to open a place like the one depicted here—a venue featuring Hitchcock movie props, screenings, and even a locked room mystery event in a hotel—in real life, I would make a reservation without a second thought. (I even attempted to stay at the real-life Shining's "Overlook Hotel," but rooms were already sold out! I was too late!) So, as a plot idea, the Hitchcock Hotel excited me a lot, and I initially thought I would give this book five stars. However, some aspects held me back and made me roll my eyes.

I found myself disliking the entire cast of characters in this book. None of the narrators are engaging, and each of them keeps secrets. Some of these secrets are life-threatening, while others are more mundane but still deeply personal. I didn’t find the friendship among the six people believable; they seem to have nothing in common besides attending a cinema class in college, partying, drinking, and complaining. None of them is trustworthy or dependable, not even Samira, who seems less dislikable with her empathic act, but ultimately, it's still an act. She, like her friends, puts herself first and is ready to backstab each other when faced with conflict.

Let's delve into the plot: it revolves around six old college friends, now adults, dealing with their own demons. Alfred, who gives off Norman Bates vibes from the beginning, becomes the founder of the "Hitchcock Hotel" with mysterious funds, despite being known as a low-paid worker in La Quinta hotels. Years have passed since a tragic event in college, and now he decides to organize a reunion at his hotel with a hidden agenda: a revenge scheme to showcase his hotel's success to his five college friends. They will stay at his place for free, and he will orchestrate a bizarre event that may end in tragedy, potentially attracting new customers to his hotel. He knows that tragedies can attract a lot of attention, and if everything goes according to plan, he will also achieve his long-awaited revenge.

Danny, his creepy middle-aged assistant, is his co-conspirator, helping him execute his plan by acting as his eyes and ears, spying on his friends.

Finally, the five friends arrive at Hitchcock Hotel, including Zoe, who insults Alfred from the moment she sets foot in the hotel. She struggles to stay sober, already on the brink of losing her profession as a chef, and harboring hatred toward Alfred for something she witnessed in the past. The other four have their own issues: TJ, who seems to have transformed himself by gaining 50 pounds of muscle and working as a bodyguard, acting agitated at each time he gets a phone call from unknown number, Julius: a spoiled rich boy who likes to verbally abuse Alfred, acting like something really bothers him, Samira, happily married with children and running a successful sex toy business, but hiding a big secret that gives her headaches, and Grace, a wealthy, successful, happily married queen bee who seems to have it all but strangely acts afraid of Alfred. What hold does he have over her? Could he be blackmailing her?

Alfred's plan is to make his friends taste their own poison, but by the end of the night, one of them doesn't make it, and one of them is the perpetrator! But who, and why? With each of them having motives, it's hard to determine who could be the cold-blooded criminal.

Overall, I loved the locked room mystery and twisty whodunit execution, as well as the references to my favorite Hitchcock movies and the author's tribute to Alma Hitchcock. However, I found the identity of the killer a little predictable, and I guessed the twist earlier than expected. Additionally, I couldn't relate to the characters enough to care about which one of them would die or who the perpetrator was. Nevertheless, I'm rounding up my rating from 3.5 stars to 4 due to my love of Hitchcock thrillers and the author's smart execution in paying tribute to his remarkable contributions to the movie industry.

A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Seriously?

You had me at Hitchcock.

I’m an honest little gal, and I’ll tell ya, I like Stephanie Wrobel. I had to try and play it cool. Give myself the “pep talk”

You know,

“Hey kor, it’s ok if you don’t get approved, you have a ton of books, you can wait”

No I couldn’t! I didn’t want to! I love Wrobel!

Please
Please
Please

It was a 38 year old tantrum .

For the love of the book gods, I got it. I blinked twice, just like in “I dream of genie” and I got it.

I love you, Berkley.

The Hitchcock Hotel

Hmmm.. this is wasn’t I expected . I like thrillers, suspense, I suppose “popcorn thrillers” but this was none of the above . More like thrills, shrills, twists and what goes bump in the night?

This book right here exceeded all expectations and quite literally BLEW my mind !

The dishes went unwashed, the laundry remained unfolded and dinner never made it to the table! As my very large husband consumed his ubereats, I was digging my heels deeper and deeper into my book.

There was not one pause. I devoured this book.

We have ourselves a bestseller right here.

Thank you Berkley, Amanda Wrobel, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review early in exchange for an honest review

The Hitchcock Hotel releases Sept 24, 2024 and I promise it’s worth the wait

Check out this teaser :

A Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda invites old friends for a weekend stay at his secluded themed hotel in this fiendishly clever, suspenseful new novel from the international bestselling author of Darling Rose Gold.

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body.