The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
When Alfred Smettle invites his five old college friends for a weekend to celebrate the first anniversary of his Hitchcock-themed hotel, with his housekeeper called Danny and an aviary full of crows, what can possibly go wrong?
Each of the friends has the opportunity to tell their story, as do Alfred and Danny, and soon a complex web of intrigue has been created, which takes a sudden turn soon after the middle of the novel that is both surprising and terrifying and takes the story in an unexpected new direction.
Alfred Hitchcock directed a considerable number of famous and well-remembered films, particularly once he had moved to Hollywood. The author of The Hitchcock Hotel, Stephanie Wrobel, published in October 2024, has a superb knowledge of all his work, and the plots and the characters of many of them are successfully woven into her novel.
My main interest when reading this book was the links and hints to the films he made of Daphne du Maurier’s books: Rebecca, the first film he made when he moved to Hollywood, and The Birds, made later on in his career. The book does not disappoint and includes many references to both of those films. So whether you are a du Maurier fan, a Hitchcock fan, or maybe both, this book will keep you on the edge of your seats as the tension builds, Hitchcock style, like a ticking bomb!
The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
Published in hardback by Michael Joseph
October 2024, £16.99