I thought the premise of this book was unique. Im not a Hitchcock fan - I’ve never seen a single movie - but I can appreciate all of the references. This was a very slow burn. Like. Very slow. Not a lot happened for a good amount of time. The ending I didn’t see coming - I was way off. However, I feel like my guess would have been a better twist. This was just a very basic whodunnit and I wanted more.

A book handcrafted for fans of Hitchcock, though non-fans will appreciate the story just as much!

A group of college friends who haven’t seen each other in almost twenty years are invited to spend the weekend at a Hitchcock-themed hotel that’s run by an old friend of theirs, someone who happens to have a bone to pick with all of them. But how far will he go for revenge? And just how inspired is he by his obsession–Hitchcock films?


I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and the twists toward the end were quite surprising and made up for the book’s slower start. Alfred Smettle is a peculiar character. He’s absolutely obsessed with all things Alfred Hitchcock. The narrative is rife with references to Hitchcock films, both tidbits from the movies and behind the scenes. It’s very clear that this book is more than just superficially inspired by Hitchcock’s work–as the author’s obsession shines through in the way the story is told as well as the twists. While Smettle isn’t a particularly likable character, he’s quite compelling and fascinating. Unfortunately, the other characters in the book lacked the same spark. That said, the setting and the plot make up for the fact that I wasn’t particularly rooting for any of the characters.

I recommend this story to those who want a classic thriller story with an original setting. Just beware–there are plenty of spoilers for Hitchcock’s films throughout.

A fun tribute to Hitchcock written by and for true fans. Engaging even if you are not familiar with the master of suspense's work, but with lots of Easter eggs if you are.

The Hitchcock Hotel is a contemporary thriller set in an Alfred Hitchcock-themed hotel.

Our main character, Alfred (of course), has invited his best friends from college to his themed business, the Hitchcock Hotel. The hotel is located in the college town where the characters all went to school together at fictional Reville College (side note, Hitchcock's wife was Alma Reville). Each classmate is a stereotype: the alcoholic chef who is about to lose her job, the former intellect-turned bodyguard who is in some kind of mysterious trouble, the entrepreneur juggling work and family, the bitchy hedge-fund manager, and the uber-rich playboy, excuse me, philanthropist. Rounding out the major characters is the mysterious maid, Danny, who is also Alfred's confidante and accomplice.

The descriptions of the hotel were well-done and made me want to visit. Alfred has collected a lot of memorabilia and displayed it in the hotel in creative manners. There is an aviary full of crows that is given some attention, but I was disappointed that it was not part of the plot, or brought up much later in the book.

While I found the book interesting enough to keep going, the pacing just about did me in. When I realized I was over halfway through and still had absolutely no idea what happened to split the group in college or what Alfred had planned for the reunion, I was frustrated. I'm okay with slow builds, but nothing started getting explained until well into the last half. Up to that point, it was all "They were inseparable in school, until they weren't..." and "The hotel will be packed with visitors after this weekend..." Once the particulars of both the backstory and the current mystery began being unraveled, though, the book picked up steam.

The final resolution, while satisfying, was somewhat annoying because we had not really been given enough information to figure it out. The motivations were not anything the reader could have been expected to glean from the story. Not to say it didn't make sense, but I personally don't like when the conclusion is based on motivation that we have not really had privy to prior.

Overall I found it interesting enough to want to read another of Stephanie Wrobel's books. so I'd give this a 3.5/5.

Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers and classic Hitchcockian suspense, The Hitchcock Hotel does justice to its cool title!

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Berkley Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Multiple POV, whodunit, Hitchcock references

This was interesting, but just didn't hold me like it should have. It was dull. I loved this authors debut. This one wasn't quite for me.

As a crime fiction and Hitchcock lover, I was intrigued by this book. Even though I liked the concept, I was a little thrown by the tense usage. It changes from 1st person present to third person present when following a new character. That's splitting hairs because other than that I cared enough to keep reading despite that. It's a great suspense with a nod to Hitchcock.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel!

The premise of this book sounded SO interesting. A Hitchcock themed hotel is the setting for a film club reunion, and of course past secrets come to the surface and there has to be a murder.

Unfortunately, the first half of this book was too slow for me, and it was hard to pick back up. I think the second half of the book was better, but the first half of the book made it difficult for me to enjoy the last half of the book.

I did really like the idea for getting the crow's POV in the prologue. That was very creative and gives the book another layer of originality.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARCs but working diligently to get caught up. I really enjoyed the premise of this book! It felt creative yet still real, as I know many people who are huge fans of horror movies (luckily not Hitchcock in general)! I feel like I saw certain aspects coming and others completely caught me off guard. I love books where you get real information along with a solid story and this book for that bill. I would recommend to anyone who likes horror, scary, and mysteries!

Tried to read this then lost interest, so I put my name on the hold list for the audio and finally finished it. It wasn't anything special. The Hitchcock aspect of it was fun, but even the descriptions of the hotel were Lacking. This book is very Character-driven but also very Slow-burn, so I found myself struggling to have any interest in it. I didn't find myself rooting for any of the characters because I didn't like any of them. I also guessed how the ending was going to play out very early on.

This is a book that will keep you guessing right to the end. Alfred, named after the famous director, has opened a Hitchcock themed hotel. He has had a rough time since university and he blames his best friends for his debacles. We find out throughout the book that there are some good reasons for his feeling that way but he now is living the dream and has invited those friends for a reunion to his hotel. No one is quite certain of his motives but he has not become any more “main stream” than he was as the oddball in university.

Right from the get-go the reader knows his motive is revenge. For what we are not sure and how he intends to exact said revenge is unknown, even to him. That will be part of the fun for him. There are some deliciously wicked pieces to this puzzle in which no one is without sin. But there is also a much deeper and even darker game going on that only at the end becomes clear to the reader- even if it is still shrouded for the characters. As in any game, some players are more adept than others. The one who wins will be the one who plays it best. Filled with surprises and twists and turns, this is a great read from beginning to end. Five stars and two paws up.

I did finish this book, but probably wouldn't have if I had checked it out from the library. I didn't like any of the characters, but I also was not compelled by any of them. The story itself might have been worth it if the people were either a little more evil or a lot less banal. Even the twisty, "you think you know because I told you, but you really don't know because I haven't told you EVERYTHING," ending was really not that interesting, there was just nobody to root for or to despise that much.

Alfred’s Hitchcock hotel is open for business and now all he needs is a reunion with his college best friends. They haven’t seen eacother in 16 years and now it’s time to catch up. There is a interesting mix of characters in this one and you defiantly get that something’s wrong vibes from the group. The setting was creepy with all the Hitchcock Artifacts all around the hotel. They sounded pretty col but not being a Hitchcock fan, I didnt get the movie references to the movies. But that didnt change the enjoyment of the story for me. . It was fun trying to figure out why they were all there and then all the secrets they all had.It was really hard for me to root for or connect with any of the characters. It felt very surface level of who they are and why the heck they are doing the tings they did. I was still interested in who done it, so i kept on and I’m glad I did. Overall a fun and easy read.

Thank you to Berkeley publishing and Netgalley for my #gifted copy.

All of the Hitchcock references are fantastic, even for someone like me, who is not the most well-versed in his films. The story is really interesting and fast-paced, and the ending did surprise me! There's just something about Stephanie Wrobel's writing style that just isn't for me,

The Hitchcock Hotel was a mid mystery. I thought some of the twists were good but most were not as shocking as I would have hoped. I was also expecting more Hitchcock. It didn't really help that I didn't really care for any of the characters or there problems either. I frequently got them mixed up. But if you're looking for a light easy mystery with tid bits of film history pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

Other than the really cool setting in a hotel designed to mimic Hitchcock movies and the Hitchcock trivia, this was a pretty mediocre who-dun-it.

This book missed the mark for me. It's such a great premise; disgruntled and somewhat bitter man brings his college friends together at his Alfred Hitchcock themed hotel to flaunt his success and settle some scores. The twists are untwisty and the characters not fleshed out. I probably would have enjoyed this more had my expectations not been raised so high. It's readable and page turning yet leaves the reader wanting more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller filled with suspense and twists that keep you guessing all the way until the very end. It's perfect for fans of Hitchcock or anyone who likes a good mystery related to reunited friends in an isolated house filled with long buried secrets.

Alfred Smettle is the owner of the Hitchcock Hotel, a themed hotel after the many movies of the famous director. It’s been fifteen years since he’s seen his former college friends, the group were very close in college, and were in the Film Club , the last year of college we soon uncover something big happened and it ended up with everyone going their separate ways. Alfred has now invited them to his hotel for a long weekend. He has a secret motive for this reunion. He’s let his staff have the weekend off except for his trusted housekeeper. You see Alfred isn’t one to forgive or forget. We soon realize that this weekend will end as any Hickcock film does, with a dead body and a who done it! This was a locked room mystery and everyone had secrets they didn’t want to uncover. This was a fun read and a good Halloween story!