“This place would pick them off, one by one, like bits of lint on an old jumper.”

Four teenagers visit The Ravencliffe Hotel, determined to find out what has happened at this abandoned facility on the beautiful Welsh coastline. The apparently haunted hotel has been beset by difficulties during its long and troubled existence. Bex, Leo, Richard and Oscar are determined to go and find out whether the supernatural rumblings are true, taking filming equipment with them in order show to the world the truth about Ravencliffe. However, not all of them come back.

Ten years later, three of the initial quartet return to Ravencliffe for answers. Richard is a recovering alcoholic, Oscar had been cashing in on his status as one of the survivors and Bex is a recluse. How will they fare this time as they return to the haunted hotel? Especially with an unscrupulous film company at the helm of this reunion.

The Hotel is a wonderfully tense and creepy exploration of the back stories behind abandoned buildings, mysterious histories and what lies beneath supernatural tales. The characters are convincingly drawn and Mumford explores the impact of grief in a nuanced and sympathetic way. This books reminded me a little bit of ‘The Blair Witch Project’ in its portrayal of the reality TV/film-like depiction of the main characters and their quest to explore Ravencliffe. Yet, the narrative takes a number of twists and turns as it progresses so stick with the slow start … the pace picks up as the tale progresses.

The Hotel is about Bex, Richard, Oscar and Leo. The story starts 10 years after the loss of Leo, an event the completely alters Bex's life. Bex, Oscar and Richard revisit the hotel the last place Leo was seen and the events that unfold are gripping. I really enjoyed this book, I liked it jumping from 10 years ago to the present. It wasn't a jump scare book for me but I think if you were reading it alone on a windswept night it could be. I liked the character of Bex. You could feel her sorrow and anger about what had happened. I did sometimes want to give her a good shake. I think the author wanted you to feel that way about her. I did figure a couple of things out but it didn't in anyway take anything from the story. I would recommend this book as I do think it's different from books in the genre that are out just now. It's the first book I have read by this author and I will definitely be checking out her other books.

I found this read a little slow to begin with, the story was well written but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

A big thank you to net galley and Louise Mumford for this early access

If you're a fan of mysterious thrillers, then you won't want to miss this well-written and intricately plotted story. With two timelines - one set ten years ago and the other in the present day - the narrative follows four school friends who venture into an abandoned hotel to make a Blair Witch-style film. However, when one of them disappears, only three return home, and their experiences and fame take them down different paths. A decade later, a TV production company brings them back together for a reunion and another documentary-style film. But as they try to uncover the truth about what happened to their missing friend, strange things start to happen, and accidents occur. Bex, the main character, is a well-developed and intriguing personality who's desperate to find out what happened to Leo. With its gripping plot and well-crafted characters, this mystery will keep you hooked until the very end.

A haunted house in a remote location off the Welsh coast.. a group of teenagers wanting to unlock its mysteries. Friendships. Drama and mystery.
The book promised a lot but somehow felt clichéd and obvious

My first “finished in 24 hours” thriller in a while! I LOVED this book! It had everything I love in a suspense: a dark, atmospheric setting, an unpredictable plot, alternating between past and present timelines, and a strong female leading character in Bex.

I loved the Victorian gothic elements of this, with Ravencliffe itself even having echos of Edgar Allen Poe with the naming, but also with how atmospheric it was, with almost human like characterization. “This place meant them harm, she could feel it in the air like salt on the breeze.”

There were so many vivid descriptions of the hotel, but I also loved the way the story unfolded with multiple layers, not only of the central characters past but the past the hotel had before them.

I thought this was a beautifully constructed story that really gave me nostalgia for my days as an English Major reading Poe and the Bronte’s. Victorian gothic at its modern day finest!

Well written with a good storyline, I enjoyed this book and would read more by this author. The book is mainly told from one characters perspective and moves from present day to last events, however it is easy to follow!

#TheHotel #NetGalley
A dark and heavy novel. A good "can you guess what is going on"?Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-Arc copy of this novel.

Four 18-year olds visit an old, reportedly haunted hotel called Ravencliffe. They’re a bit bored and are in that time between ‘A’ levels and results. It was always going to be Bex and Leo, but Richard finds out - he’s Bex’s boyfriend, so he and his mate Oscar also go along. They’re thinking about film or media studies and are all into thrillers and horror stories, recording their own story sounds such fun, until while at the hotel in the darkness Leo disappears.
Ten years later, their recording has gathered a following on the internet and a production company suggests a revisit to the scene for the remaining three. Bex has been living like a hermit, away from the public eye; Richard has not had a good ten years; and Oscar has been lapping up all the attention when he can. Bex isn’t interested until a letter comes through the post, she feels she has to return and find out what happened.
The story romps at a good pace, moving from present day to ten years ago, mostly from Bex’s perspective. It was very engaging and quite a page turner. Good ending.
Couldn’t quite work out if it was YA rather than a thriller, but I was gripped and felt the tension in places.

well, what a surprise. This is not my usual type of book, (nobody got murdered). However the title appealed to me since I work in an Hotel!!!! And I loved it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was well written and flowed nicely.. I liked the characters and I liked the insight to Kleptomania. It was a very interesting book and I would definately reccommend. I would have liked just a tiny bit more background / childhood stuff which could have been more dark and sinister. GREAT BOOK

With overtones and nods towards Stephen King novels, The Shining in particular The Hotel features a gothic
Welsh allegedly haunted Ravenscliffe hotel which the main character Bex draws similarities between it and King's Overlook hotel. With a dual narrative then (set 10 years previously) and now, the story features a group of friends who went to the Ravenscliffe to film their experiences, think Blair Witch however things go wrong.......jump forward 10 years and their film has a huge following in fact their fans are rather cult like and the group find themselves unwilling participants returning once more to the Ravenscliffe but this time with a film crew in tow.

Well written with a bit of tension thrown in for good luck The Hotel will be popular with the readership of Sarah Pearse and Ruth Ware.

Creepy hotel: Check. Unsolved mystery: Check. Delightful slow burn that builds up at a decent pace: Check. This book was exactly what I loved about Simone St. James' Sundown Motel with the obvious excluson of the paranormal, Still a really great read if you have an upcoming hotel stay and want to give yourself the creeps!

Overall quite an enjoyable read although I found it quite slow for the first half of the book. It picked up then and became much more interesting and ended strongly. Three and a half stars

This was an interesting book to say the least. I really did enjoy it. It kept my interest until the end. I recommend it to all mystery/thriller fans.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for my ARC!

I DNF'd this one. Just too much time on backstory and how they made this movie that has so many fans but you don't know why, even after almost half the book. I never got invested enough to even care what really happened.

This was a well written book! Loved the twist and turns! The two timelines I think add to the pace and story! Look forward to more from this author.

The Hotel features “clean-living, book-reading, plant-tending, record-listening, yoga-bending” Bex Harrison. Bex has been a virtual recluse for the past ten years, since she and three eighteen-year-old friends ¬– Leo, Oscar and Richard – were filming in Ravencliffe, a spooky abandoned Victorian hotel in Wales, as part of a school project. The projected ended tragically when Leo, disappeared, apparently having fallen to his death, though his body wasn’t found. Bex was shattered by the events but, despite everything, the film and its young creators became a cult hit. Fans meet up annually to watch the footage and try to work out what happened to Leo. As the tenth anniversary conference approaches, a package arrives containing a cigarette lighter that belonged to Leo. Has he been alive all this time or is someone taunting her? She decides to attend RavenCon10 in an attempt to find out.

There are tensions between the group of friends and suspicion falls on several of the characters. The survivors return to Ravencliffe, participating in a filmed reconstruction of events. The author cleverly creates various parallels between the teenagers’ original visit and the return to Ravencliffe, creating intrigue and concern for the welfare of the characters. Whether by luck or not, I guessed the outcome fairly early on, and felt that the explanation for Leo’s disappearance was telegraphed a while before it was revealed. I did enjoy the back story: the historical accounts of the death of Peter Manning, a Victorian workman, during the building of the hotel; the suicide of Reginald Morwood, the hotel’s original owner, and the intrigue surrounding Morwood’s wife, Jane.

For me, The Hotel was more an interesting diversion than a genuinely tense thriller. Less Blair Witch Project and more Famous Five – the author herself refers to “lashings of ginger beer”. Louise Mumford describes her fictional location in impressive detail, so it’s easy to imagine the Gothic hotel and its grounds, perched high above Cardigan Bay. I’d recommend The Hotel to readers who enjoy suspense but don’t like books that are too scary.

As an urban explorer who researched old buildings and dead people - this book spoke to my soul.
Bex has spent ten years of her life trying to figure out what happened to her best friend and ends up in the hotel where it all started. The hotel is a massive structure that was never used. It was a man's greatest ambition but then it just never happened.
It is compelling.

Intriguing Mystery Thriller
Well-written and well-plotted story with two timelines, ten years ago and the present day. Four school friends waiting for their A level results decide to explore a spooky old, abandoned hotel on the coast surrounded by rumours, myths and legends. They make a Blair Witch type of film and when one of them disappears only three return home. The film goes viral and the three are affected in different ways by their experiences and fame. Ten years later they agree to return for a reunion organised by a TV production company who make another documentary style film out of it. Strange things and several accidents happen as Bex tries to find out what happened to her best friend Leo while Oscar and Richard continue to cause problems. Bex tells the story and is a well-developed character desperate to uncover the truth and make amends. Overall a very enjoyable mystery.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley UK for the ARC.

Three friends who, a decade ago decided to visit a haunted, abandoned hotel, get the offer to relive their nightmare and hopefully find more answers.

This book had incredible potential, but fell incredibly short. Only about 35% of it took place at the actual hotel itself (I was 53% in before Bex, the MC, even arrived on sight). The beginning had a suspenseful build-up that made me look forward to some plot twists or scandelous mysteries, but nothing major happened. The parts that were supposed to be scary actually did have me glancing over my shoulder, but it wasn't enough. I wish the horror lasted until the very end, but we have a conclusion about 90% into the book, and the remainder is a disappointing and saddening close.

Overall, it's a mediocre read: has elements of horror and the paranormal, medium-paced, dual timelines for a portion of the book, focuses a lot of trust and friendships. An OK read, but don't expect too much out of it!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.