Thriller Thursday Reviews: A Very Bad Thing & The Hitchcock Hotel

Hey Everyone! Yes, Sharon here and I am back with a Thriller Thursday edition. Sorry for the hiatus, but life got in my way. I cannot believe it is already December and in just a few weeks it will be 2025. Where has the year gone? But today I am happy to share my thoughts on A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison and The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel.

Author: J.T. Ellison

Publication Date: November 1, 2024

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Columbia Jones is a best-selling author, at the top of her game. She is on a book tour for her latest novel, but on the final night of the tour, a face in the audience makes Columbia collapse on stage and by the next morning she is found dead in her hotel room. Who would want Columbia dead? Turns out there are a few people who would.  And that is the premise of J.T. Ellison’s, A Very Bad Thing.

Riley Carrington is a reporter that Columbia hired to accompany her on tour and write an article on Columbia and then possibly help her write her memoir. Riley was supposed to meet with Columbia the morning after the final night tour and she is the one who found her body.

Columbia’s daughter and assistant, Darian, had an argument with her mother the night before. When she walked into the hotel room and saw Riley standing over her mother, she immediately accused her of murder.

Kira Hutchinson is Columbia’s biggest fan and she had won a meet and greet with her on the last day of the tour. Kira is devastated to find out the Columbia has been murdered.

The story is told from the POV’s of Riley, Darian, and Kira. Ellison did a great job of creating these characters and bringing them to life.  I really liked getting to know each one and try and figure out how they are connected. The secondary characters are also just as fully developed.

We also get chapters on a draft that Columbia had written years ago but was never published.  In this draft we find out about Columbia’s secret past and possibly who would want to see her dead. I really like getting to know Columbia through these chapters.

I know I have not said anything about what goes on in the book, but if I did then I would be spoiling things. And I think this book is best to go into blind.  I will say that I loved following the investigation and trying to make sense of the clues that came out. I really thought I had things figured out, but then a twist would come to prove me wrong. I pretty much ended up suspecting everyone in the story at one point.

A very Bad Thing was a fast paced read, that never had a dull moment and was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. The suspense and tension really picked up at the end and I could not read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next.   4 Stars

Author: Stephanie Wrobel

Publication Date: September 24, 2024

Publisher: Berkley

I have never read anything by Stephanie Wrobel before, but when I came across The Hitchcock Hotel, I had to read it as I am a fan of Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Smettle has been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock since he was a child, thanks to his mother. Alfred knows everything there is to know about Hitch, as he calls Alfred Hitchcock. In college he was the head of the Film Club, and it was here that he met his friends: Zoe, Samira, TJ, Julius, and Grace. But an event happened in their senior year and Alfred has not spoken to any of them in Sixteen years. Alfred is now the owner of a Victorian house high on a hill in the White Mountains. Alfred has turned this house into the Hitchcock Hotel, complete with a screening room, movie props and even an aviary filled with black crows.  To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, Alfred invites his college friends to spend the weekend. And in true Hitchcock fashion, before the weekend is over someone will be dead.

I am a Hitchcock fan, though not to the extent as Alfred was. LOL!  So, I really loved all the references to his movies and the props that Alfred has acquired for his hotel. I learned a thing or two about Hitchcock that I did not know. So not only was this a mystery but also a learning experience for me. Hahaha

I will say that I did not like any of the characters very much. With friends like these, you really don’t need enemies. They each had secrets they were keeping, some more severe than others. And when the events of what happened their senior year of college came out, I was like “Go get them Alfred.”  Then I learned more and was like “Oh Alfred, you are no innocent party here.”

When we find out who dies, I immediately thought I knew exactly what was going on. I was so sure I was right and then came a twist that blew that theory out of the water. I so did not see that twist coming at all.

The Hitchcock Hotel was a good read. It didn’t knock my socks off but kept me entertained throughout.  3 ½ stars