Book Review: The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

It’s time for my spooky season of reading to begin, and what better way to kick it off with a review of a book that excels in creating a creepy atmosphere? The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel lays the groundwork for uneasiness; it features bizarre behaviour, bad omens, unhealthy obsessions, and of course, crows. You don’t have to know much about Alfred Hitchcock or his movies to enjoy this book (I don’t know much at all about him) but I still enjoyed this domestic thriller and chills it gave me.

Plot Summary

Alfred Smettle is the proud owner of a large house on the top of a hill in a small town nestled in the White Mountains. Being a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan, he has renovated this home to be a themed hotel, complete with a small theatre that shows Hitchcock movies daily, actual props from Hitchcock movie sets of long ago, an aviary of 50 crows, and themed experiences that reflect the Hitchcock plot lines, like a glass of milk and cookies before bed. The place is creepy, which is exactly what Alfred wants. To help celebrate the one year anniversary of its opening he invites his group of friends from college to visit and stay the weekend, for free. This previously tight-knit group are each holding their own secrets as they arrive for their reunion, and it quickly becomes evident that most of them are there reluctantly. As the story continues, details slowly emerge as to why these friends are so uncomfortable around each other and the real motive for Alfred inviting them to stay; he intends on punishing one of his five friends for something they did when they were all in school more than a decade ago. To accomplish this Alfred lets the rest of the hotel staff have the weekend off, except the strange older female housekeep Danny, who treats Alfred like a son and never leaves his side. Drifting along the corridors, spying on the members of the group when Alfred can’t be there, Danny has bought into Alfred’s plan and intends on helping him execute it, but it’s not clear who is going to face the wrath of these two first.

My Thoughts

I loved the atmosphere of this book. The setting, the characters’ odd behaviour, even the imagery was so well done; Wrobel did a fantastic job of making the reader uneasy. An isolated house on a hill full of people with a dark history and murderous intentions? It makes for a fantastic premise, and the book includes small elements that build on the suspense; title chapters that include ominous quotes on Hitchcock’s style, the fact that the weekend is situated on Friday October 13th, the question of whether the scary additions to the house are to replicate a Hitchcock storyline, or a temporary tool to manipulate its current guests. There is much to analyze and delve into, and considering these friends all took a film criticism class together, the symbolism is important to the history of their friendship and fun for the reader to decode.

The character of Alfred is an interesting one as our reactions to him oscillate between pity and fear. It’s revealed that he was born with a distinctive birthmark on his neck that kids used to make fun of, so as a teen he began wearing turtlenecks to cover it up, and never once strays from this, even in the hottest weather. Making friends clearly does not come easily to him. However he is immediately cast as the villain when the book begins; he speaks directly to the reader, and does not hide the fact that he intends on hurting someone at his hotel that weekend,. His delight in the darkness of his hotel also casts him in a questionable light. He displays psychopathic tendencies, and when we hear from the other characters’ first person accounts, they also admit to being creeped out by him, recalling how his facial expressions quickly change when he believes no one is watching him. Once we discover what he’s doing up in that attic all by himself, it’s difficult to pity him at all.

The pacing of this novel is the only critique I have; it takes awhile to get going, and it drags in parts. It could have received a tighter edit to keep the plot moving a bit faster, which is what domestic thrillers typically require to keep their readers interested, and distracted. Distraction is a key element of the thriller, because if the reader has too long to ponder who is responsible or whether a situation is believable, there’s a strong chance the author can lose it’s audience. Keep us moving and readers will ignore the parts that don’t always add up, which is a common hazard in this genre. Wrobel doesn’t stretch the imagination too far, but I still would have appreciated a faster plot.