A review by kba76
The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Wilkie Collins is one of the Victorian writers at the fore of mystery writing. The Haunted Hotel incorporates many of the Gothic elements I would have expected from Collins, while also making use of some of the more modern mystery elements.
Much of the story focuses on the mysterious Palace Hotel and whether there is more to the deaths/disappearances that seem to take place there. We are relayed the story by key characters on the outskirts of events, and this leads to a certain level of detachment that makes it hard to move past.
The characters are not particularly likeable, and though we are encouraged to feel for some more than others, the lack of development - and perhaps the social conventions of the time impacting their interactions - made this quite a hard story to really get involved in.
Much of the story focuses on the mysterious Palace Hotel and whether there is more to the deaths/disappearances that seem to take place there. We are relayed the story by key characters on the outskirts of events, and this leads to a certain level of detachment that makes it hard to move past.
The characters are not particularly likeable, and though we are encouraged to feel for some more than others, the lack of development - and perhaps the social conventions of the time impacting their interactions - made this quite a hard story to really get involved in.