Let us begin with an establishing shot. A three-story Victorian house stands alone on a hill in the White Mountains. The house boasts a wraparound porch, mansard roof, and bay windows. Despite the building’s age, her shingles gleam, shutters sparkle. In other words, she is beloved.
We swoop in through an open window on the third floor to reveal a handsome hotel room. A woman with a face of cracked earth leans against the four-poster bed, watching a man in his thirties survey himself in a pedestal floor mirror.
I twist away from the mirror to face my housekeeper.
“How do I look?”
Danny takes her time considering me. “Like Norman Bates,” she jokes.
What if I had never met this group at all? On one hand, they were the cause of my eventual ruin. On the other, these people were fundamental to the man I’ve become. For four years we were family. They shaped my beliefs and sense of humor. They cheered me on. They accepted me. Right up until they didn’t.
A locked room mystery in which the sins of the past are brought into the present, threatening the future. There will be blood. There will be suspense. There will be twists. There will be irony. There will be readerly fun.
Stephanie Wrobel – image from Festival of Authors
It was my mother who introduced my very young self (I was four when the show premiered) to Alfred Hitchcock, not so much through his films, which I would get to eventually, but through his TV series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Each episode featured Alfie offering often macabre intros, a la Rod Serling, but with considerable tongue-in-cheek humor. As for his films, Psycho remains one of my all-time favorites, as do many others. Consider me a fan, although, like the author, I have seen only a portion of Hitchcock’s 53-feature-film oeuvre.
“I was introduced to Hitchcock via North by Northwest during a film studies course in college. (If you’ve read my book, this will sound familiar.) I’ve been a big fan ever since. What surprised me most as I rewatched some films and watched others for the first time was how much they hold up in 2024—especially the humor. Hitchcock is known as the Master of Suspense, and he is, but I would argue he was just as much a master of comedy. I still can’t believe how funny his movies are. I don’t think humor is something my generation associates with Hitchcock unless you’re a big fan.” – from The Big Thrill interview
Like my mom, Alfred Smettle’s mother was a big fan as well, a gift she passed on to her only child. He carried that interest into college where he became a central figure in a class on film taught by a gifted teacher. (Wrobel had a Dr. Scott as an inspirational teacher in college, and honors him with the naming here.) He even started a film club to take his interest further, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with others. These included a band of five fellow students. Alfred was never one of the popular kids, but he found acceptance in the Blue House that they shared. Well, until something went very wrong. There are hints about a debacle in senior year, but we are not let in on what happened until the back end of the book.
Edward Hopper’s House by the Railroad – image from Wikipedia
The friends parted after college, but Alfred retained his fascination with Hitchcock, and now, sixteen years later, he has opened a Hitchcock-themed hotel (a B&B really) not far from the New Hampshire college they had attended. It features lots of memorabilia, many filmic artifacts, and considerable atmosphere. It is an old Victorian Alfred had done over. One might be reminded of a Hopper painting, and the infamous house it inspired. He invites them all to a free weekend there, hoping, among other things, to get the place some ta-die-faw publicity. Business needs a boost.
The Bates Motel House at Universal Studios – image from Paul Van Sprundel at WordPress
The group (the five guests plus Alfred and his housekeeper, Danny) is made up of the guilt-ridden, the vengeful, the desperate and the forlorn. In The Readers Couch interview, Wrobel talks about aligning her seven main characters with the seven deadly sins. (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) It kind of works out, but there is plenty of overlap and double dipping, with one character seeming not to fit very well to any of these human proclivities. Grace is a hedge fund manager; Zoe is a chef who drank her way to a furlough; Julius was born to great wealth and little direction; Samira, newly divorced mom, had started a personal device business that had caught on; TJ is a security specialist who appears to be in some sort of trouble.
A bird attacking – from the Birds – image from TCM
If you are looking for Hallmark likeability, I can recommend about a thousand films and a gazillion books that will take care of that for you. None of these characters is entirely ok. The closest, I guess is Samira, who seems most eager for everyone to just get along. Alfred is definitely an odd duck, just a weeeee bit obsessive, but is he dangerous? (I am sure he “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”) Grace certainly has some hard edges, and a seeming disregard for others. TJ seems somewhat ok, but is sleeping with a married woman, and who knows what he might do given the external pressure he is under? Zoe has a serious alcohol issue. It has already cost her her job. What is fueling it, and might it lead her to dire blackout behavior? And what’s up with Danny, the housekeeper, who seems maybe a bit too fond of Alfred?
From Vertigo – image from The New Yorker
References to Hitchcock films abound throughout the book, beyond the Bates Motel House exterior and screenplay-like opening. Avian life puts in an appearance or two, (The Birds) As do a suspicious glass of milk (Suspicion), high places (Vertigo), voyeurism (Rear Window), rope (Rope) and others. Part of the fun of this read is identifying as many of these as possible, making it a bit of a treasure hunt.
Jimmy Stewart as L.B. Jefferies, having a peek in Rear Window – image from TCM
There is an abundance of non-Hitchcockian reference as well, TV and film mostly, from Dracula to Parks and Recreation. Not that these are all key to the plot, but they are fun markers nonetheless.
From the film Rope (1948) – image from The Movie Screen Scene
Major twists will keep you off-balance, as the game continues of trying to figure out whodunit, how and why. The Hitchcock Hotel offers a page-turning bit of suspense with a considerable payload of Hitchcockian homage. There may be death in store by the end of this novel, but one thing is for sure. With Stephanie Wrobel’s able assistance, Alfred Hitchcock lives.
What conclusion can a young man draw when he’s the only one who has a hard time making friendships that last? Maybe they stay away for a reason. Maybe his core is rotten. Maybe they all know something he keeps hidden from himself.
Review posted – 12/27/24
Publication date – 9/24/24
I received an ARE of The Hitchcock Hotel from Berkley in return for a fair review, and a few drops of my personal poison stash. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.
This review is cross-posted on Goodreads. Stop by and say Hi!
=======================================EXTRA STUFF
Links to Wrobel’s personal,FB, Instagram, and Goodreads pages
Profile – from her site
Stephanie Wrobel is the author of This Might Hurt and Darling Rose Gold, an international bestseller that has sold in twenty-one countries and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Her third book, The Hitchcock Hotel, is a USA Today bestseller that published in Fall 2024. She lives in New York City.
Interviews
—–The Big Thrill – PAYING HOMAGE TO THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE AND PAYING IT FORWARD by R. J. Belsky
—–BiffBamPop! – my link text by Andy Burns
—–How Do You Write – Ep. 358: POV Hack: Using Method Acting with Olesya Salnikova Gilmore – with Rachel Herron – video – 31:09
—–The Reader’s Couch – Ep. 234 The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel – audio – with Victoria – 22:00
Items of Interest from the author
—–How to Tackle Editorial Feedback – very informative item for writers – there are many excellent pieces for writers on her site
—–CrimeReads – HOW TO WRITE PERFECT TWIST ENDINGS (THAT WILL SHOCK AND DELIGHT EVEN JADED SUSPENSE READERS)
Hitchcockian Wicki-ons
—–1940 – Rebecca
—–1941 – Suspicion
—–1948 – Rope
—–1954 – Rear Window
—–1955-1965 – Alfred Hitchcock Presents
—–1963 – The Birds
—–1958 – Vertigo
—–1960 – Psycho
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