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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book for the most part. The characters may have been close friends in college, but they have all drifted apart and really don't know each other any more. The story unfolds through all of their points of view. The pacing was just so terribly slow at the beginning. The entire first half of the book kept alluding to this big mysterious event that happened while they were all still in school. Once that was revealed, it really picked up through to the end. The other thing that didn't make me love it more, is that there was nobody to really root for. I didn't like any of the characters, so it made it hard to get invested in their stories. The main story was good and had a satisfying ending.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This started off great but gradually fizzled out for me. The withholding-things-from-the-reader bits got tiring when it became the main driver of the suspense. I felt increasingly distant from the story the longer it went on.
Note there are spoilers for some Hitchcock films...it'd be kinda weird if there weren't.
Energy: Conniving. Imposing. Duplicitous.
🐺 Growls Over-withholding near the end (literally as someone is about to reveal the big past secret the text skips over it abruptly. Then we watch the characters gasp and make decisions based on that big reveal but we’re completely out of the loop, so I got bored).
🐕 Howls Take character notes. There are a lot of characters, and at first it was hard to keep them all straight (I did get a feel for them eventually).
🐩 Tail Wags Making it clear that the characters aren’t exactly friends so we can dive into the tension right away. Not being sure whether we should root for Alfred and his scheming. Insufferable friend group so it’s fun to watch them squirm. The hotel setting and ‘off’ vibes Alfred's giving.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in a Victorian mansion converted to a hotel in a campus town near the White Mountains.
Perspectives (7): A Hitchcock stan who recently opened a Hitchcock-inspired hotel and invites former college film studies friends for a stay. The eighty-something housekeeper and Alfred’s confidante. The five friends – a former restauranteur struggling with substance abuse; a parent and sexual health entrepreneur; a freelance security specialist; a rich soon to be richer heir to their grandfather’s fashion brand; a hedge fund manager unsatisfied in their marriage.
Timeline: Current (2010s or 2020s). October.
🔥 Fuel: If all the friendships are so strained, why did they all agree to stay at the hotel together? What happened between them in college? What is Alfred’s motivation for reuniting with them?
📖 Cred: Suspended disbelief
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Smoke and leather. Bacon and thyme. Crows. Movie memorabilia. TUMS. Velvet pouch. Attic vents.
- Atmospheric Hitchcock-inspired hotel
- Frenemies reunite suspense
- Technologically isolated
- Secrets from the past
- Found fam gone wrong
- Regretful actions snowballing
- Long haul vengeance schemes
- Popcorn-mystery vibes
- First person setting the scene hearing select thoughts and musings
Content Heads-Up: Alcohol abuse (recovery/sobriety; maintenance; temptation/cravings). Alcohol use (recreational, intoxication, hangovers). Car crash (fatal; very brief mention). Loss of parent (as child; as adult). Brain aneurysm (very brief recall). Body shaming (height). Pregnancy. Voyeurism. Sexual content (on page; brief). Infidelity, unrequited love. Divorce. Cancer (brief mention; early diagnosis; terminal). Death, corpse (discovery of). Betrayal. Academic dishonesty. Nicotine (cigarettes; very brief recall). Suicide (implied). Loss of spouse. Murder.
Rep: American. Cis. Hetero. Chinese ancestry. Pale and ambiguous skin tones.
📚 Format: Library Paperback
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content, Murder
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Suicide, Car accident, Pregnancy
This was an excellent, twisty mystery. Every time I thought I had it figured out I would be surprised again. The final twist provided the perfect resolution in my opinion. I had so much fun reading about this weekend full of secrets and revenge.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, I did not see a lot of things happening. What I thought would happen was way out of what really happened. Man, it just caught me off guard. It kinda has a clue-esque feel to it as you are trying to figure out everything that conspired. There were parts if it (in regards to the back story) that I thought were meh, but other than that, I honestly had no idea what was coming next.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
This is probably one of my favorite reads this year! It's a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out where the book is going. It did have a twist that I didn't see coming. And of course being a Hitchcock fan myself, I appreciated all of the little nods and references to his career.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book was a great journey from start to end and the storyline kept me guessing. The story unraveled beautifully and so detailed every moment.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a fun, twisty thriller with a very cool setting. There were many times I thought I understood where the story was going only for it to take an unexpected turn. I devoured this!