In the foreword to Stephen King’s short story “1408” from his collection *Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales*, King writes, “Hotel rooms are just naturally creepy places, don’t you think? I mean, how many people have slept in that bed before you? How many of them were sick? How many were losing their minds?” Beyond the individual rooms, consider the countless hidden corners inside a hotel. On one hand, hotels are vast—a killer could easily move from room to room unnoticed. But they’re also claustrophobic. A guest could find herself trapped in a closet or locked in a bathroom.
There’s also something unsettling about sleeping so close to strangers. You hear their snores, shouts, and moans through the walls. You hope no one will break down your door in the middle of the night while you’re most vulnerable—unconscious and dreaming. Perhaps this is why hotels, motels, resorts, and cabins are such popular settings in fiction. The potential for chaos is endless.
My new book is a reunion thriller about six former college friends who haven’t spoken in sixteen years for reasons unknown. When I decided to set the novel in a hotel, I knew it would be Hitchcock-themed. *Psycho* is my favorite hotel movie, and I wanted to pay homage to both the film and its director. My research included a deep dive into Hitchcock’s films and other hotel-based thrillers. The novels below all make exceptional use of a setting that is both foreign and familiar, reminding us that sometimes, there really is no place like home.
### *Security* by Gina Wohlsdorf
Since reading *Security* four years ago, I’ve made it my mission to spread the word about its brilliance. The story is set in the brand-new Manderley Resort in Santa Barbara, described by the landscaper as “a tooth somebody yanked out and stuck on the beach.” The novel’s genius lies in its first-person-slash-omniscient point of view, thanks to the security cameras scattered across the property. Add in humor, plot twists, and sheer terror, and you’ve got a winner. I had to stop reading it at night because it gave me nightmares.
### *The Cabin at the End of the World* by Paul Tremblay
While this isn’t technically a hotel story, I’m stretching the definition here because *The Cabin at the End of the World* is too good to leave out. Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Andrew and Eric, rent a remote cabin in New Hampshire. One afternoon, a giant man appears in the yard and befriends Wen. Soon, three more strangers arrive, all carrying strange weapons and claiming they need the family’s help to save the world. I highly recommend reading this book in one sitting—don’t forget to breathe.
### *The Guest List* by Lucy Foley
One of my biggest challenges while writing my novel was ensuring readers could distinguish between the narrators. *The Guest List* was a great teacher in this regard. The story revolves around a murder during a wedding at The Folly, a resort off the coast of Ireland. Foley cleverly uses traditional wedding roles—the bride, the groom, the plus-one, the best man, the bridesmaid, and the wedding planner—to help readers keep track of the characters. The identities of both the victim and the killer remain a mystery until the end, and despite my experience, I didn’t see the twist coming. If you’re in a reading slump, this book will pull you out of it.
### *Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone* by Benjamin Stevenson
Who says murder can’t be funny? If you like a bit of humor with your crime, check out *Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone*. The Cunningham family gathers for a reunion at an Australian ski resort, waiting for one of their own to be released from prison for murder. Our witty narrator, Ernest, tries to unravel past and present crimes as bodies start piling up. I loved the breaking of the fourth wall, the sharp commentary on the mystery genre, and the intricate puzzle-box plot.
### *Please See Us* by Caitlin Mullen
While only one pivotal scene in *Please See Us* takes place in the Sunset Motel, the real story unfolds in the marshlands behind it. Two Jane Does have been abandoned there, with more to follow. Only one person knows the whereabouts of the missing women—but not for long, as a young boardwalk psychic and an ex-art gallery worker start investigating. Set in Atlantic City, the novel captures the decay of once-glamorous hotels and the lives of their residents. What I appreciate most about this book is how it centers on the victims. Each Jane Doe has a voice from beyond the grave, and we feel the injustice of their lives being cut short. We never learn the killer’s identity, but that’s not the point. Mullen’s debut is a thoughtful and much-needed addition to the hotel thriller genre.
### *The Shining* by Stephen King
No list of hotel thrillers would be complete without *The Shining*. King’s Overlook Hotel, based on the real-life Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, is the quintessential haunted hotel. King and his wife stayed at the Stanley during the off-season in 1973, and their experience in room 217 so unnerved him that he wrote a book about it. In my own novel, protagonist Alfred Smettle cites the Stanley as his inspiration for the Hitchcock Hotel. “Guess what the most requested room is fifty-one years after King’s stay,” Alfred says to his housekeeper, hoping to recreate the same eerie buzz for his own hotel. Does he succeed? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
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Source: crimereads.com