A dual storyline thriller. Four teenagers go to an abandoned Victorian hotel, which comes with a murky past, to make a film and generally get up to hijinks in the gap between school and university. Things go terribly wrong and only three leave the hotel. Where is Leo? What happened on that fateful night?

It is now ten years later and there are fans who organise an annual convention, complete with merchandise, which has grown up around the original film that was put online. There is intense speculation about what really happened.

The now scarred twenty eight year olds are invited to meet at the hotel once again, to join in the making of a reunion film with a professional company. What could possibly go wrong?

A gripping read in part, this is an interesting premise for a thriller, but some aspects of the story were distracting; the hotel is started in 1878 yet there are still decrepit gardens in the present day, rather than the land having reverted to wildness, Victorian ballroom windows which are still intact, not broken by intruders, or the elements, a chandelier still in place, not pillaged, and even a little wooden box on a mantelpiece in a room in the hotel. This is completely unrealistic and kept distracting me from the story.

Also, how long is it since the author has spent any time in hospital? There would not be a private room full of flowers, there are no flowers allowed in hospitals at all. Also, staff do not record patient readings on clipboards anymore, it is all on iPads!

The resolution was what I expected, but I did enjoy the twisty action of the story. Bex was a good character and at the end I wondered what she would go on to do, which is indicative of sound writing and character development.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Creepy and abandoned hotel out in the middle of nowhere makes the perfect setting for this thriller! Ten years ago, four friends set out to film at this creepy venue, but only three return. No one knows what happened. Ten years later, they set out again, this time accompanied by a film crew. Will they finally discover what actually happened?

Solid thriller that I overall enjoyed. Certain aspects of the storyline felt a bit drawn out and I had trouble really clicking with any of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. Opinions are my own

I hate giving negative reviews but I really struggled with this one. If it hadn't been a NetGalley book I would have just stopped reading.

It was such an interesting idea but ended up being very slow and dull. None of the characters were likeable, apart from Jasper the TV presenter, who provided some much-needed humour but I don't think was actually even meant to be likeable.

In places it was hard to follow and visualise, the main reveal was lacklustre and the secondary reveal I had guessed as soon as the character was introduced.

I also felt like some of the interesting bits that happened 10 years ago should have been mentioned earlier. I spent most of the first third of the story wondering why anyone was even interested in what had happened because it was all so vague.

I didn't enjoy this book but hopefully other people will. Thank you for letting me read it.

After reading the blurb I was all set for a nail biting thriller. Sadly, it just didn't hit the mark for me. I found it very slow and I didn't warm to any of the characters.

I wasn’t a massive fan of The Hotel. I felt the story never really got going and I couldn’t gel with any of the main characters. From the premise I was expecting a tense, thrilling book that would completely grip me but I found it lacked pace overall and was somewhat disappointing. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

Another great thriller! I read this in two sittings and had to force myself to put it down to sleep! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for early access to this book.

What a great mystery/thriller, it had all the elements that I love in a book unusual characters , suspense and a few moments of my own personal fears ( small spaces) . Loved it bravo

This was good but not great. It had suspense and twists but overall was predictable. I appreciate the approval for the early read and hope others enjoy it more than I did.

My first by this author but not my last. I saw her at Newcastle Noir and new I had to read one of her books.
This was excellent. Creepy, it led me on a path to a maze of its own!
So good. Couple of days to read as I didn’t want to put it down.

Sorry this is a DNF I couldnt get into it I will not be reviewing on my profile as I never review not finished books

Four students spend the night at an abandoned hotel on the Welsh coast, hoping to capture some decent footage to use in their college applications, but only three of them make it home. A decade later, the footage they captured has become famous and, for the 10-year anniversary, the three survivors return to the Ravencliffe Hotel to shoot a reunion special. For Bex, this is one final opportunity to find out what really happened to Leo all those years ago.

The Hotel is a very intriguing mystery thriller, with an eerie atmosphere and supernatural vibes. The scenery and setting is very well written; perfectly suited to the story and entirely believable as a real-life location which would draw the attention of ghost-seekers and horror filmmakers.

The plot is good and the characters, while not exactly likeable, are believable and reasonably well developed. Unfortunately, the pacing is a bit too slow and the story gets a little bogged down in excess detail. It’s a good effort, but doesn’t quite hit the mark overall.

This was a good thriller. Nothing really was life-changing about it. However, I did enjoy it. Thank you so much to the publisher for an early copy.

There are people out there who will love reading ‘The Hotel’ by Louise Mumford, and it is probably a much better fit for readers, unlike me, who like a little gothic horror crossover with their thrillers.

The story is intriguing and the writing style sets scenes perfectly. Characters, places, and events come to life and will likely haunt you for days to come. It’s a book that stays with you because of how well it’s written and I really appreciate the experience of being pulled into such a dark, creepy atmosphere. It was a new, almost adrenaline inducing, experience for me.

Personally however, I found it a little too wordy at times and a little repetitive. I didn’t bond with the main characters too well, making it hard to care about what happened to Leo, and as someone who reads mostly thriller books for the mind f@&kery I found the story to be somewhat lacking in that area.

It’s a good book, with a good story that sucks you in. It wasn’t a slog to get through and I didn’t hate it. Unfortunately we just weren’t a good fit for each other and it wasn’t my cup of tea at this time.

You swore you’d never come back, now you might never leave.

10 years ago 4 teenage friends explored a building rich with history but only 3 returned. Over the years they have faced their own struggles but they decide to meet up and revisit exactly what happened that night.

The blurb grabbed me straight away on this book but sadly it wasn’t for me. I found it quite slow and I didn’t get invested in the storyline at all. I am sure though that I will be in the minority and good luck to the author on its release. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Publication Date - 23/06/2023

⭐️⭐️

#TheHotel
#LouiseMumford

Really enjoyed this. Ten years after Ravencliffe, they return......

Good edge of your seat thriller where three friends return to the hotel, where once there were four. A couple of twists and turns throughout that kept me interested.

Reminded me a little of Blair Witch, but with a modern, social media vibe.

Thanks to #NetGalley the author and publisher for and ARC of this book

Ten years ago, horror fanatics Bex and her best friend Leo made a plan to explore an abandoned local hotel, hoping to experience the kind of 'bad place' described in their favourite Stephen King novels. Their trip is quickly hijacked by Bex's boyfriend, Richard, and his annoying friend, Oscar - both of them wannabe film makers who think Ravencliffe would be the perfect setting for a movie to impress their university tutors. The four arrive at the imposing, desolate place together, but only three of them leave. Leo has disappeared without a trace and Bex's world has been shattered.

The present day narrative tells the story of Bex, Richard and Oscar's reluctant return to Ravencliffe to film a reunion special - the footage they filmed on the night Leo vanished having become a viral internet sensation spawning annual conventions, merchandise and legions of amateur detectives. Calling themselves Ravens, these devotees are an obvious nod to members of sites like Web Sleuths and Reddit, all of whom have their 'favourite cases' and 'pet theories'. The implicit question the author teases is an interesting one: is it wrong - or at least distasteful - to consume someone's real life trauma and grief for entertainment?

Accompanied by the film cameras, Bex is thrown back together with Richard and Oscar, their reunion strained not only by the years apart and the loss of Leo, but by the fact that Bex is constantly wondering what is genuine and what is performative for the film. What are their motivations for coming back to Ravencliffe after so long? Perhaps fittingly, the book left me wondering about several characters' motivations for most of their actions throughout the story.

Reclusive Bex, tormented by unanswered questions and by the compulsive rituals she relies upon to quiet her troubled mind, is a reasonably well-drawn protagonist. I was drawn into her story immediately and was eager to know what would finally draw her out of her self-imposed isolation to return to Ravencliffe as she inevitably would. I could empathise with Bex throughout the narrative and I thought the author did a particularly effective job of portraying a teenage Bex in the flashbacks; she is immature and self-centred, but snarkily self-aware at the same time.

However, the relative depth of Bex's character only highlighted how under-developed and flat the characters of her male counterparts were. The teenaged versions of Leo, Richard and Oscar were basically assigned one or two distinguishing characteristics at most, with little effort made to make them seem likeable or to explain their relationships to each other or to Bex. For example, we know that Bex and Leo were incredibly close, but I never felt like I understood why they meant so much to each other, which made it difficult to buy into Bex's grief and anger fully. The big reveal, when it comes, doesn't really make sense; the characters' motivations seemed flimsy and far-fetched, and the stakes seem low because the connection between the characters feels so superficial.

With unsubtle allusions to seminal 90s found footage horror 'The Blair Witch Project', as well as a deliciously creepy haunted house origin story and an eerie gothic setting, The Hotel had a lot of potential but ultimately fell short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

A sinister, creepy story set across two timeframes. When the original event happened and 10 years later when the truth unravels.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I love a good mystery so I had to jump on this books as soon as I saw it. I absolutely love abandoned places and the fact that this book was set it one made me like it even more. The author kept me engaged and guessing through the story. I will say that the start was a bit slow but once you really get into the book the story flows really well.

I liked this book. This was the first book I’ve read by this author. It was a good thriller that kept me wanting to read more.
I didn’t expect the ending and felt like I could really relate to the characters which helps me want to keep reading. I highly recommend!

I read this book late into the night. I wanted to know what had happened at the hotel and if it was really haunted. And also where Leo had gone. The plot had lots of twists and I wasn't expecting the explanation when it came. What had really happened to Leo when he vanished? The answer included a fiery confession. Occasionally I felt a little sad, but I had to keep turning the pages to find out if Bex discovered the truth and if it freed her to continue her life.