The Hitchcock Hotel

Alfred Smettle, a lover of all things Hitchcock, concocts a plan fit for the movies he so voraciously consumes—he has lured five of his old college friends to his Hitchcock-themed hotel under the guise of an overdue reunion. The weekend quickly turns sour as tensions rise over the long-buried secrets of the past, casting suspicion and paranoia over the secluded hotel. The plot thickens when a murder is committed, and all the guests maintain a desperate stranglehold over the past. The book is presented by a trio of talented narrators: Michael Crouch, Gail Shalan, and Helen Lloyd. Crouch stands out as the outcast Alfred; Lloyd narrates Alfred’s unsettling assistant Danny; and Shalan gamely narrates the rest of the uncomfortable group. The novel’s pace is somewhat languid but gains momentum as the twists and turns multiply. Listeners may be initially puzzled by how Wrobel (This Might Hurt) utilizes each narrator, but satisfying answers are supplied in the end. As clues are revealed, the atmosphere of tense watchfulness mirrors the characters’ increasing seclusion.