The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

Oct 06, 2020 Brenda rated it liked it

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. There was not much of a haunting.

There seemed to be a lot of discrepancies between character behaviors and a lot of coincidences; for so many characters that disliked each other they all shared a lot of company together; and the end to me was a bit strange. I suppose it was to tie it all together and keep the reader thinking, but again another coincidence that brought enemies together in an odd fashion.

I liked the mystery part of it, I thought tha ...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Franky rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

As with many other Wilkie Collins novels, The Haunted Hotel has elements of fate, romance, danger, deception, murder and mystery. The story begins with Lord Montbarry breaking off his engagement to Anges Lockwood. Countess Narona, who will marry Lord Montbarry, comes to see a doctor to evaluate her sanity. The Countess seems to be under a good deal of stress about this marriage, as she was unaware Montbarry had already been engaged. There is an aura of fatalism about the Countess, as she feels a As with many other Wilkie Collins novels, The Haunted Hotel has elements of fate, romance, danger, deception, murder and mystery. The story begins with Lord Montbarry breaking off his engagement to Anges Lockwood. Countess Narona, who will marry Lord Montbarry, comes to see a doctor to evaluate her sanity. The Countess seems to be under a good deal of stress about this marriage, as she was unaware Montbarry had already been engaged. There is an aura of fatalism about the Countess, as she feels an impending sense of dread about this situation.However, the marriage goes through, and it seems that the Countess and Agnes Lockwood will cross paths several times. When a mysterious death takes place a bit later, followed by a disappearance of equal mystery, then things get more complicated. Fate seems to beckon all key characters to an ill-fated hotel with one seriously spooky room.

The novel’s conclusion, where all is unraveled in the denouement, is probably the most effective part of the book and mystery to the plot. As always, Collins knows how to put everything together in amazing fashion and hold our interest by delaying major plot developments. This makes the final few chapters quite compelling, as we await the fates of key characters and the mysteries involved with the hotel. I also really enjoyed the “book within a book” approach that Collins utilizes as a key component in the mystery.

Still, I think that several of Collins longer books are much more effective at creating a well-timed pacing and building the appropriate amount of suspense and tension. The pacing for The Haunted Hotel seems to be off, with long bouts of romance and trivial developments in the first half that stall the story. At these moments where we learn a bit of the background the plot moves at a plodding pace, with no sense of tension or real drive to get going anywhere. It is only when several character motives are in plain view, and when the hotel becomes the focus, that the suspense takes off and heads to a fitting conclusion.
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May 26, 2012 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: victorians, audio-books, horror, read-2012, suspense-thriller, gothic-romance, italy

From BBC Radio 4:
In 1860, the formidable Countess Narona marries a rich young aristocrat in London - but shortly after travelling to Venice her husband dies, apparently of natural causes, leaving the Countess a rich woman. Years later, guests in a Venetian hotel encounter the terrifying apparition of a murder victim seeking revenge.

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May 20, 2017 Mrs. C. rated it really liked it

A good old-fashioned mystery involving money, love, fatal attraction, and unfaithfulness with a ghoulish theme, to boot. It all gets explained in the end--or does it?

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Jul 11, 2015 Kai Coates rated it it was amazing

Shelves: august-2015-roundtable-challenge

I am a big fan of Wilkie Collins. This novella is full of gothic horror, Victorian scandal, and lush scenery. I let it sweep me along like the bit of fun it was meant to be. There's actually a lot going on in this slim work, and Collins chooses to frequently change the direction the story is coming from (a doctor, letters, different family members, etc.). It could have been very confusing, however he handled it deftly. ...more

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