I have to rave about this one, both as an Alfred Hitchcock fan and as a thriller/suspense fan. The Hitchcock Hotel is the easiest five star read of this year. I bought it on a whim because I read the plot synopsis. I finished reading faster than I expected to, and I have thoughts - so many thoughts!
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Warning, this blog will have some spoilers in it. Read it yourself and wait to read my review if you want a spoiler-free experience. You've been warned. Don't spoil it for yourself!
This book is a fantastic tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. The main storyline, without giving too much of the plot away, is one man, Alfred Smettle, inviting college friends into his Hitchcock-themed hotel for a free stay. From there things are already tense. Odd things are happening, people are getting hurt, secrets are being spilled- that haven't been spilled in years- from senior year at Reville (the university just across the way). You're waiting for the first body to fall and eventually it does - but it isn't who you think it'll be. From there, we get a plot twist that threw me for a loop in the best way possible.
Now that we have the main plot, we're going into spoiler territory. Do not pass this paragraph until you've read the book. This is the second warning.
Overall thoughts (with spoilers)
I'm going to avoid dropping who the body is and who did what. I love that every single person had a secret to hide, whether it was part of the greater plot or just a personal problem. The way the foreshadowing was done for every secret was brilliant. It was all planted early on, alluded to as the story progressed and people conversed. The solution was looking you right in the face. The body that dropped was not who you expected it to be. I expected at least two or more bodies to drop and we only got one.
Our main characters were all troubled. They were tied together by the past, haunted by it and controlled by it in some cases. No one was innocent, and one person who knew something wasn't actually believed for a long time. You can already see that no one wanted to come to the party. Some are afraid of their host and others are not. Some suggested leaving. One has bigger problems and needs the strength in numbers, along with the help of one other friend. You see different levels of anxiety in everyone. It's incredible writing. It takes effort to portray different levels of fear in multiple perspectives. The last perspective to present itself is at the tail end - the cherry on top of the wonderful treat. I never expected to hear from that character in her perspective.
As for the ending, I completely empathized as to why they did it. I won't say who, so don't ask. It was the cherry on top to have that twist at the end. I never would have considered that character so important, and to have done so much. I attributed some of the stunts they did to another character, who didn't actually do as much as you think. I know this is cryptic, but if you read the book, you'll probably understand.
The Hitchcock tribute was a chef's kiss of a tribute. If you never watched the films, though, they'll fly over your head. You've got Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, Rope, and Suspicion outright mentioned and referenced. It's brilliant the way themes of those movies were woven into the plot, interactions, and events of the book. We have an aviary of crows, on top of all that. Unfortunately, the care of the crows falls onto someone who doesn't care in the last chapter, which saddens me deeply.
Conclusion
Overall, I tried to avoid spoiling things, but I know I did spoil some vague secrets. Read it yourself. You'll thank me later. It's so worth your time. I loved it. You also have to know Hitchcock to love it, but I'm sure Hitchcock fans are far more likely to pick it up for the title alone. Easy five stars, best book ever.
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Morrow is coming out before Christmas 2025. This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship? Find out when the book releases this year.
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