A brilliant suspense read that becomes a whodunnit halfway through, this book is he perfect homage to Hitchcock.

We follow Danny, who is celebrating the first year anniversary of his hotel, by inviting his friends from college. It’s been many years. We have Grace, who was the leader of the group, sweet and sensitive Samirah, spiky and adventurous Zoe, rich boy Julius and street smart TJ. The group are now in their late 30s (I think) and after pressure from Grace they all reluctantly attend the weekend invitation. It’s clear some of them don’t want to be there. We see the group argue and begin to slot back into their college roles. The first half sets up Danny’s plan and the second half follows the repercussions of it. You also have Danny, a Mrs Danvers type character.

I really enjoyed this one. I know other readers found the characters unlikeable but I found them understandable and was intrigued by them. I don’t have to like a character to enjoy the story and this one I did. I’ve read Wrobel previous two books and she is such a consistently good writer. I enjoyed the way the stakes rise and the dynamic between the group. A perfect Halloween read.

Stephanie Wrobel has done it again. She’s such an auto-buy of an author for me. I loved The Recovery of Rose Gold and This Might Hurt You. With The Hitchcock Hotel she’s cementing as a thriller author to look out for who’s there with the top writers like Lisa Jewell and Alice Feeney.

In a nutshell this novel is a college reunion story set over a tense weekend with flashback to the twenty years before. This group used to run a film club. After something tragic happened the group went in their own directions. Now Alfred, who has resentment towards the group, has invited them all to his hotel for a weekend…Tension will simmer…secrets will be revealed.

Such an immersive read. It was such a treat reading this nail-biting suspense read. I found myself rewatching Hitchock’s movies along with the group in this book and found myself tense and eager to know what would happen next. The six characters were compelling along with a strong sense of place. Absolutely loved!

From suspense to a twisty whodunnit, I enjoyed every page of this!

Alfred Smettle, movie buff and Hitchcock obsessive has bought the creepy house that looms above his college town and created a hotel that pays homage to his favourite director stuffed to the gills with memorabilia. He invites his group of university friends to stay, gives the staff a week off and prepares to host them with the help of his elderly housekeeper Danny. Things unravel, secrets come to light and the guests turn on each other!

I loved the darkness at the heart of the a number of the characters, the consequences of past actions coming to threaten their present, and all the references to films and Hitchcock. The twists were fun and the characters more than mere ciphers for the plot. I also enjoyed the crows. Recommended!

This is an interesting read and for the first half is a thriller and the second becomes a who done it mystery. A different concept and one the author has based on the films of Alfred Hitchcock, who plays a huge part in this book, with his films being central to the plot.

Years after being college roommates a group are invited to the anniversary of the opening of The Hitchcock Hotel, run by one of their number Alfred. Despite being close initially during college years they have mainly been estranged for many reasons. Once gathered almost immediately things take a dark turn and mirror what happened in some of the Hitchcock films. Birds, a poisoning, someone spying on the guests and then a death.

The characters are all fairly despicable, including the victim and it is difficult to see who was responsible. I enjoyed the ending and think mystery fans and Hitchcock lovers will enjoy the many references in the book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a curious read. It did grip me, kept me turning pages until the end... but I was left feeling a little lost. Because while it's a neat story, well-told and engaging, there was a lot that frustrated me here.

The main issue for me was that none of the characters is likeable in the slightest. We start with a horror-movie-style group of misfits, coming together to reunite at the titular Hotel after their college friendship fell apart years before. Yes, there'll be revenge, bitterness, secrets to be discovered. This is a Hitchcock-themed story after all, so I was prepared for twists, turns and the unexpected.

And the Easter Eggs were fun - from the obvious, like 'The Birds' and 'Psycho', to the lesser-know of Hitch's work and aspects of his own (unpleasant) life. This isn't rose-tinted, and I appreciated that.

Halfway through, the book becomes an odd sort of Whodunnit - and the resolution really didn't satisfy me. I'd guessed it from pretty much the start but discounted the villain because they seemed too obvious!

If the characters were at all sympathetic, I think I'd have cared more about their fates, but while the ending is neatly tied up, nothing seemed resolved. I was almost hoping that the whole mystery was a trick, as nobody came out of this well. It was just... sad.

A decent story that left me wanting.

This book takes the familiar trope of a reunion of university friends, but delivers an exceptionally stylish and original piece of story telling, which will have particular appeal for fans of old movies.

Alfred (named after the director Alfred Hitchcock) is the member of his friends' group who really screwed up badly at University. Of course, he was not the only one who engaged in risky behaviour, but he was the one who paid the ultimate price: expulsion.

Now, years later, he has set up the Hitchcock Hotel as a homage to the famous director's creepy films. And he has invited his old friends to reunite for a very special weekend retreat.

As expected, there are dead bodies and strange happenings aplenty. But what sets this book apart is the complexity of its narrative and the many small touches and quirks, as well as the attention to detail that make it an effective homage to the director whose work clearly inspired this novel. Well worth a read.

This was a really great read especially if you love Alfred Hitchcock and his numerous movies a lot of which are referenced throughout the book. I always been a fan of old movies especially Hitchcock ones so for me this was a dream of a read however even if you know nothing about said movies it’s really doesn’t matter at all.
I very much like this author’s style of writing she makes a story creep up on you and before you know it you’re hooked and stay hooked till the conclusion. Some fabulous characters and well thought out plot and I just love the setting of the Hitchcock Hotel it certainly gave me the chills !
So a super read that was refreshingly different and one that I would highly recommend especially if you like a good mystery to solve.
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sorry I thought this started great and then u began drifting away from it and not looking forward to reading it. Sorry

Alfred Smettle is an obsessed Hitchcock fan, he creates a hotel for fans of Hitch. However, things don't feel quite right when he invites some old college friends for a weekend, their secrets won't stay hidden for long.

As a huge fan of Hitchcock I had to read The Hitchcock hotel, there are plenty of nods to the great director and some nice quotes. This has some nice twists going on, a cast of ghastly characters and a decent plot. My only concern is that the writing in the second half doesn't quite hit the nail on the head and it maybe could've been slightly shorter. However, worth the read for fans of the genre and of course Hitchcock.

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley & the author for this ARC! I can't wait to check it out and see what all the hype's about!

I had high hopes for this book, I love Hitchcock and I love a thriller.
This book was much too flat and had nothing but anticlimax to offer at the end. It could have been brilliant, alas.

This had great potential and started out strong. Credit given for the page turner writing but let down by a very flat ending in my opinion.
I enjoyed the twist and thought it was well done but far too bland as endings go.

Alfred Smettle is the ultimate Alfred Hitchcock fan and he invites his college friends to stay at his new Alfred Hitchcock themed hotel. However, behind a mild mannered demeanour Alfred is hiding a difficult past. He wants to prove to his friends that he has now succeeded in life but does something more sinister lie behind his invitation.

I really enjoyed the Hitchcockian themes to the story as well as the locked room crime. I enjoyed the revealing of the characters shared past and the unravelling of the friendships as everyone begins to suspect one another. An enjoyable and exciting mystery thriller; 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

This novel certainly succeeds as a love letter to Hitchcock, indeed I found myself watching two of his films during the two days I spent reading this book. The references are prolific and entertaining and showing a deep love, respect and affection for the work of this director.

In this book we follow a group of former university friends who have been invited to stay at a hotel owned by one of their group for a long weekend. The person in question, Alfred has created a hotel that pays homage to his namesake. He purchases real film props, memorabilia, replicas to create an ambience immersed in the director’s films.

However everyone has secrets and their own agendas. Across the weekend, suspicious things start occurring, things going missing, things left in rooms… tensions rise, tempers start to fray and things become stranger as we look to the characters’ pasts to explain the terrors they face in the present.

I was hooked early on in the book, the tension and atmosphere was fantastic. However the last 1/5 of the book didn’t quite pay off for me. I still really enjoyed it though as I was completely gripped for most of it!

A clever and interesting novel that is wonderfully themed.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reading copy. I really liked the description and level of detail about Hitchcock, and the premise was certainly a good one - 5 friends receive an invite to their old friend from college to stay at his Hitchcock themed hotel. Unfortunately I didn’t like any of the characters and the murderer at the end was a surprise I must admit but even they were unlikeable despite their reasons. It took me a while to get into it.

I'm a big dan of Stephanie Wrobel, and I think her writing has gotten even better with each book! The Hitchcock hook here really had me, and I truly had no idea where we were headed for most of the book. An excellent piece of suspense writing that I'll be recommending!

As a fan of Alfred Hitchcock films, this is a book I really wanted to read and it did not disappoint.
The Hitchcock Hotel is the venue for a reunion of six friends, a remote mansion dedicated to Hitchcock, including an aviary full of crows, a cinema screening Hitchcock films around the clock, and rooms full of film props and memorabilia. The owner and manager is Alfred Smettle, a massive fan of all things Hitchcock. On the first anniversary of the hotels opening, Alfred invites his college friends who he has not seen in years. The friends all studied films together, and Alfred feels they will be the perfect guests to appreciate his hotel. The guests themselves are not so sure.
It does not take long for the tension to build, this book is full of suspense, and of course, there are surprises along the way, until a dead body is found.
This was a psychological thriller, full of plot twists, and an unexpected ending. Thoroughly recommended.

The premise of this book had everything I like a creepy hotel, a group of friends with secrets, a grudge and Hitchcock. It does deliver on all of these but I didn't find it as intriguing as I expected to. All the characters are unlikeable and it just seems unbelievable that they would attend this event. The twists were good and I genuinely didn't guess the ending and was shocked. Overall I did enjoy the story and would recommend if you like a character driven mystery.

Hugely Entertaining..
Alfred Smettle, Hitchcock aficionado extraordinaire, has purchased the house on the hill - considered from afar during University days - and has transformed it into The Hitchcock Hotel. Every piece of memorabilia devoted to the great man himself. Alfred lives and breathes the place. Alfred also has plans. For the first anniversary of the creation of the hotel, Alfred organises a reunion for his university friends. And, they will all comply with the invitation but what then… Secrets will out in this superbly crafted psychological suspense come whodunit with a credible, often wholly unpleasant and carefully drawn cast of characters populating a slow burn, menace laden plot drenched in atmosphere and riddled with Hitchcockian references, twists and surprises galore. Hugely entertaining.

3.5 rounded up

So, this was a weird one for me.

With a predictable plot that’s been done to death and filled with unlikeable characters and one of my most hated tropes, I’m really surprised at how much I enjoyed this propulsive and readable book. It’s a compelling testament to Wrobel’s writing! 

I didn’t go to University, and am in my 30s, but find myself drawn to dark academia in fiction. While I have a hard time believing that folks would hang on to baggage from this era, I do enjoy the campus setting and drama. The setting of New England in the fall compounded the sense of atmosphere. All the characters sucked but, for the same reason a whole generation embraced Gossip Girl, there’s a perverse entertainment in watching horrible things happen to horrible characters.

I predicted the ending early on and while the motivation made sense, I struggle to suspend disbelief about the some of the practicalities of it.

This book succeeded in doing what it set out to do: entertain. If you’re looking for a fun (kinda campy and a bit predictable) autumnal thriller, you could do a lot worse than this. I enjoyed reading this cover to cover on a rainy day!

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you, Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House!