Definitely not what I was expecting, and that’s okay. I liked the reading the history of the author and the hotel. Not just the sordid stories, the hopeful start story was nice too.

When Amy goes to work at the Cecil, she is in for a surprise. There is more there than meets the eye.

This was an okay read. I wasn't blown away by any of the content. Most of it is already circulated. Decent overall.

All I knew of the Cecil Hotel before reading this book was the negative reputation many know. Lots of deaths, Elisa Lam, and Richard Ramirez. Amy Price did a great job of showing a behind the curtain look at what life was like at the Cecil in the decade she was the manager. The reader meets many colorful characters that lived at or visited the Cecil. Price showed the good side of the hotel that many don't know about. It was definitely an interesting read!

The story of Elisa Lam and the Cecil Hotel was only vaguely recognizable to me when I first saw this as an option to read, but even in that state of 'only vaguely recognizable' on a specific-case level, I knew I wanted to give it a shot. Amy Price is a capable guide through the accounts of the experiences she had while the general manager of this tragedy-stricken hotel, and while the book isn't a lengthy one, it is pretty all-encompassing of the years she spent there. It is a fascinating read, conversational in tone, and filled with shocking, even heartbreaking, vignettes about the folks who populated the Cecil. Any true-crime fan, especially ones who came to the Cecil's story through the Netflix series, will flock to this.

There are three sides to every story, yours, theirs, and the truth. Most people have heard the stories about the Cecil Hotel and all the drama that is associated with the hotel. Behind the Door is Amy Price's version of the story. She was the manager of the hotel for over a decade. She saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. Price also was vilified for being the manager by people all over the world after the Netflix docudrama on the hotel. This is Price's story of redemption. She is tells her story of how she becomes the manager and why she stayed. I think she had hoped that this story would paint her in a more redeeming light but again, this is only her version of events, which unfortunately comes across as her being self-centered rather than altruistic. I enjoyed reading this book and seeing things from Price's vantage point. I enjoyed the interesting tidbits about the goings on at the hotel. It didn't leave me feeling any particular way about Price, no more or no less than I had before reading the story but I didn't really have an opinion about her one way or the other. I think it is an interesting book that can be enjoyed regardless of your opinions of the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins publishing for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

This book tells the real story of the Cecil Hotel as told by an insider who worked there as General Manager for many years. The Cecil Hotel was the subject of a Netflix true crime documentary series and it centered on the mysterious death of a resident at the hotel. We learn the hotel is part SRO (single room occupancy) for people living on the edge (poverty, addiction, mental illness) and part boutique hotel. This makes for some very interesting and many times creepy stories about happenings at the hotel. The Author is clearly a compassionate person and humanizes the residents at the Cecil Hotel. I read the book first before I watched the docuseries, and I am glad I did because she is able to tell her story without the sensationalized version of the story Netflix wanted to tell. A very interesting read and at times a creepily difficult and sad read.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow
Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.. I was intrigued by this story like most, while watching the Netflix documentary. I was excited to see a book about the hotel and to read information written first hand from someone who experienced being in the hotel for years. Amy gives a lot of details about the hotel, tenants and the story of the different owners. I felt some unnecessary (but interesting parts) were about the author herself as it does not relate to the story of the hotel. Also the chapters jump around a bit. Overall, I liked the book and felt that it gave more than what the documentary offered.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Amy is excited about her new position at the hotel. She is unfamiliar with the history of the Cecil hotel, until she gas worked their a while. The number of individuals who have passed away in the hotel goes up every year. The hotel was beautiful once, but had a bad reputation. A good read.

This is a book dedicated to stories. You know when you sit near an elderly person and they’re alone and they start going into random stories, “I remember this time when…” and you’re so engrossed in their life that you want to hear ALL their stories, no matter how long you continue to sit there? Yeah, that’s this book. I wanted ALL the stories. I ate them up - trying to process what I was reading, but also loving the way they were told…through the eyes and ears of workers (a General Manager and Maintenance worker) at the Cecil Hotel.

Amy Price is our narrator, a woman who gradually made her way to General Manager status in this seedy hotel with a bad reputation. Richard Ramirez stayed there! Suicides! Murders! The Elisa Lam mystery! All took place at this hotel, located near Skid Row in L.A. She’s seen a lot. She’s heard a lot. She’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly, and she is telling us those moments and how she dealt with them.

I knew about the Cecil Hotel prior to reading this book, so I was very familiar with some of the history. But Amy gives it life, color. She transforms this dingy old hotel into something you WANT to check out. You want to see these characters in the flesh. Her writing style is scattered, yet it works for this type of book. I devoured this and absolutely loved it.

Add to your TBR now and make sure to read it come October. This hotel will never be vacant, and you will not soon forget this after reading it.

I'm such a sucker for reading anything that deals with human behavior. This book is a prime example of that. The Cecil Hotel is already such an enigma on its own, and we get more of that insight from this book. As much as the author lists the many wide range of characters that either reside at the hotel or stayed for a time, it felt like a showcase or parade of people who, at least the ones mentioned in the book, suffered some sort of mental illness.. But somehow it felt necessary to do it that way to really allow us readers to feel and know the true reality of the Cecil Hotel.

I enjoyed reading this semi-memoir about her time at the Cecil, especially the part that she was a true cheerleader for the place. Her heart was definitely attached to it and you feel that throughout the book. It was a place that she wanted to thrive and do well, but everything around it just didn't want her to succeed. The case of Elisa Lam was definitely sad and unfortunate, but her case was just as intense as all the other stories in the book. I think partly I enjoyed this book because the stories were so absurd, yet these were real situations, that it adds more and more to our fascination of how humans can be. Kudos to Amy that she had such high hopes for the Cecil.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Behind the Door is the story of author Amy Price, the former general manager of the infamous Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. Amy worked at the Cecil/Stay/Stay on Main for 10 years, including the time when Elisa Lam disappeared and was later found dead. Originally hired to revamp several rooms, Amy's position changed and changed and changed until she was in charge of the entire place. The book takes us through her entire time at the hotel. It includes stories about residents, staff, and a lovely friendship between her and the maintenance manager, Pedro (who had been working at the hotel since 1984). When Amy first met Pedro, she asked him how many people had died at the hotel. Pedro's answer: "A lot." During the 10 years of Amy's stay, approximately 80 people met their demise.

I have a fascination with a bunch of weird places around the world - and the Cecil is one of them. Even for a large hotel, there has been a ton of deaths there. Amy talks about ones that occur during her tenure, but also highlights some of the more memorable stories before her time - personally, I always thought that the story of a woman leaping to her death and hitting a man on the sidewalk killing both was especially sad.

And of course, we learn Elisa Lam's story from her point of view. Remember her? The young woman that was acting odd before disappearing? Weeks after disappearing, Amy was notified by Pedro that a member of the maintenance staff found her body in the large water tank on the roof of the hotel. I'm weird in many aspects, but even now I still gag at the thought of drinking and bathing in people soup. (Yes, that is a crude way of putting it but ever since I read about it, that's all I could think.)

Amy chronicles the entire event, including showing the parents the water tank and her appearance on the Netflix documentary. There is some information that I had never seen mentioned before.

Ultimately, I believe most people will be reading for the Lam story (which appears around the half-way point of the book). And while many people may complain that this book was too much about the author - it was a bit heavy about her towards the end, in my opinion - overall, this was a fascinating tale about a screwed up hotel in a screwed up area of a screwed up city. I don't read non-fiction unless it is about a subject I'm thoroughly interested in and even then, I sometimes get bored. While the entire tale was not exclusively about the hotel, the conversational tone made it easy to lose myself in the story. If you are looking for an interesting read and/or are obsessed about the Cecil, this is your book.

The historic Los Angeles Cecil Hotel is notorious for a range of reasons. Its grand architecture reflects the 1920s era of its construction when even this 700-room budget hotel displayed the lavish attributes of more upscale buildings. However, in later years, The Cecil garnered a darker reputation. Located on the fringes of Skid Row, the property has accommodated individuals grappling with various personal demons. Most notably, the infamous serial killer Richard Ramirez resided in one of its rooms during the height of his reign of terror.

Recently, the hotel has regained the spotlight as the focal point of Netflix's "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel." This docuseries delves into the enigmatic disappearance and death of hotel guest Elisa Lam. I was utterly captivated as I watched each of the four episodes, drawn into the mystery surrounding this woman's tragic end and the ominous history of the hotel itself. Amy Price, who served as the general manager of the property during the Elisa Lam incident, played a prominent role in the series. When her publisher offered me a copy of her book, Behind the Door, I eagerly accepted the opportunity to explore her firsthand experiences with this infamous establishment.

Behind the Door is a compelling blend of memoir and exposé, offering an opportunity to set the record straight regarding Price's experiences at The Cecil Hotel and the events that have contributed to its notorious reputation. Price vividly recounts how she initially found herself in the role at The Cecil. Originally brought in for a brief three-day interior design assignment aimed at modernizing a portion of the hotel, her success in this endeavor led to her prolonged involvement. Her unwavering determination and dedication soon secured her position as manager.

Within the book, Price delves into the formidable challenges of managing an aging hotel, essentially divided into two distinct businesses. The first comprised the original section, primarily occupied by long-term residents, many of whom grappled with mental illness and addiction, drawn to the location due to its affordable rent. The second part represented the refurbished hotel segment, striving to attract tourists to the struggling area. In hindsight, Price acknowledges that this business model was bound to fail, but in the moment, she was resolute in her efforts to make it a success.

The book dedicates much of its narrative to presenting Price's perspective on the Elisa Lam case. It becomes evident in her storytelling that the Netflix series edited her interviews to fit the narrative they intended to convey. Through the book, Price is afforded the opportunity to provide the missing context that was omitted from the series. While watching the series, viewers might have been surprised by Price's seemingly nonchalant demeanor regarding Elisa Lam's disappearance. However, the book reveals that such incidents were all too common during her tenure at The Cecil. In fact, cases of death and disappearance were, sadly, an inherent part of her job. As readers delve deeper into the text, it becomes increasingly apparent that The Cecil Hotel is a place burdened with a dark and tragic history extending far beyond the Lam case.

While I valued the opportunity to gain more insights into this fascinating history, Behind the Door does suffer from certain narrative inconsistencies. Price presents her experiences in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner, leaping from one event to the next without much consideration for crafting a cohesive narrative arc. Consequently, some parts of the story are more engaging than others. It left me yearning for a more chronological structure. While the story itself is captivating and adds depth to our understanding of the building's storied past, the book's presentation can feel a bit disorganized. All this aside, it's evident that Price has a deep appreciation for the property and the dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to maintain its operations. The book even opens with a heartfelt tribute to one of these individuals. It undoubtedly serves as a means to raise awareness about the place and the dedicated team behind its daily functioning.

When I first heard about Behind the Door, I was immediately intrigued. Like many people, I devoured the Netflix documentary series, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel. The case itself captured the attention of many, including a number of armchair detectives who tried to solve the case themselves.

I was expecting Behind the Door by Amy Price to be more of the horror ilk. And while it turned out to be very different, I still really enjoyed learning the history and meeting some of the inhabitants of the storied hotel just off Skid Row.

It’s unfortunate that so many people attacked Amy after the Netflix series. As with any television or movie documentary, although the footage and interviews are “true,” never underestimate the power of a good editor to completely twist the story and take things out of context.

I appreciated learning Amy’s side of the story and I loved getting to know her. She’s a quirky, hard working creative who just happened into managing a super bizarre hotel/welfare housing. There’s so much history behind the doors of the Cecil hotel, it’s truly a fascinating book to read and it made me feel like an insider.

The Cecil Hotel is widely known for its dark history, eclipsing what was once an opulent Art Deco destination in Los Angeles. On the edge of Skid Row, it had become nothing more than a dingy 700 room dive. In 2007, Amy Price was brought on in an attempt to revive the hotel to its original glory. Unfortunately it closed and became an affordable housing complex in 2021.

Chances are you’ve heard the stories of its famous residents, serial killers Richard Ramirez and Jack Unterweger, and most recently, Elisa Lam, a college student who mysteriously disappeared and was later discovered dead at the hotel. Price had many experiences there in her 10 year General Manager position and encountered residents of every kind, from the mentally ill to those whose addictions gave them no other option.

The book focuses much less on these notorious truths and more on Price’s personal life and reflections on how society has abandoned the people that have called the Cecil home. Even then it doesn’t resonate with the emotional connection one would hope to get from such observations.

If you’re hoping for a deeper look into the seediness of this haunted hotel, this is not it. While there were interesting moments, much of it was simply brief retellings of what I had already read or heard about over the years.

This one was not as I imagined. It felt like it was more about the author than the actual story of the Cecil hotel

The tone and the content of this book wasn't what I expected. I've seen the documentary and was interested in reading this book. However, it wasn't as intriguing or entertaining as I had hoped. I appreciated the update on the hotel and getting to learn more about the author's role at the hotel, but overall was diappointed.

Thank you to William Morrow and Scene of the Crime for the advance copy of this ebook. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

Amy Price tells her story about working as Interior Designer at the old Cecil Hotel in LA. She was hired to design the upper floors to be used as a hotel The lower floors were used to rent by the month by low income and the homeless. After a new owner bought the hotel to become a low income housing a Docuseries was to be made and Amy was hired to tell the stories of all the past renters, how the lived there and left. Each story was so interesting!

I have been fascinated by the Cecil Hotel for a while, from the rumors surrounding Richard Ramirez’s stay there, to the Austrian serial killer posing as a journalist, to the Elisa Lam case. Ms. Price actually worked at the Cecil, and not only worked there, but ran it. She has all the stories from her time there, and she’s willing and able to share them.

This was a really interesting book. Touching on some of the more famous aspects of the Cecil’s history, this book also delves into and really humanizes many of the lesser known tenants that lived there, many of whom had their own secret stories. Price also gives us insight into her life, and how the Cecil impacted her and became such a huge part of her life.

If you too are interested in the Cecil Hotel, I would recommend this book.

I'm a vouyer. A true crime junky. The creepier the better. So, of course, I watched the Netflix documentary on Elisa Lam and the Cecil Hotel. I watched it a few times. When I saw this book, there was no question, I absolutely had to read it.

Wow! Amy Price recounts her life as the GM of the Ceci Hotel where she worked for many many years. She gives the history of the hotel and gives her own account of the Elisa Lam case as well as other residents and suspicious deaths. I read this book quickly. This will not disappoint!