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The Hotel Guest
Not yet published
Expected 28 Apr 26"Their fate was her fate, their future, her future…"
Kit's summer position at the Abbaye de Saint Maurice, an upscale hotel in the French Alps, was meant to be a new start. But after she became entangled with a mysterious group of guests, the estate came to hold her darkest secret, and she had no choice but to flee.
A decade later, Kit receives an invitation to return to the hotel for the first time since she left. But who is calling her back? And why, when they had all promised to stay away?
Despite unanswered questions, Kit can't resist the pull of the Abbaye and the chance to finally find closure. But upon arrival, she learns that JP, her former lover, is writing a book that could expose the group's shared secret, and the others need her help to stop him.
How far will they go to protect themselves? And will Kit be able to betray the man she once loved for the good of the rest? When new details surface about that summer, Kit is forced to question the story she's told herself all these years about its disturbing ending, and she'll have to race to uncover the truth before everything comes crashing down…
Kit's summer position at the Abbaye de Saint Maurice, an upscale hotel in the French Alps, was meant to be a new start. But after she became entangled with a mysterious group of guests, the estate came to hold her darkest secret, and she had no choice but to flee.
A decade later, Kit receives an invitation to return to the hotel for the first time since she left. But who is calling her back? And why, when they had all promised to stay away?
Despite unanswered questions, Kit can't resist the pull of the Abbaye and the chance to finally find closure. But upon arrival, she learns that JP, her former lover, is writing a book that could expose the group's shared secret, and the others need her help to stop him.
How far will they go to protect themselves? And will Kit be able to betray the man she once loved for the good of the rest? When new details surface about that summer, Kit is forced to question the story she's told herself all these years about its disturbing ending, and she'll have to race to uncover the truth before everything comes crashing down…
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
ARC received in exchange for honest review.
I wanted to like this book. The author’s descriptive writing is strong: the hotel and its surroundings are described with vivid imagery that immediately draws the reader in, and the fast-paced plot kept me engaged to the very end.
That said, there was a great deal I struggled with. One among these issues was the reliance on familiar and overused tropes—most notably, the “working- or lower-middle-class girl is barely accepted into (yet remains obsessed with and deferential toward) a group of reckless rich kids.” Another is the “rich boy who treats the working-class girl as a mildly interesting project while she hangs onto his every word,” as well as the broader trope of “rich kids doing strange and awful things simply because they can.” Each of these felt tired and repetitive, and rather than deepening the story, they consistently pulled me out of it.
Another was the extensive philosophical theorizing by the so-called “Olympians.” The repeated discussions about “living interestingly,” along with debates about existentialism, free will, and choice, came across as both pretentious and unnecessary to the movement of the plot. Instead of adding depth, these moments felt distracting.
I also felt the protagonist was subjected to unnecessary trauma, particularly in relation to the event she experienced at the age of ten or eleven. Given the current state of the world, encountering yet another fictionalized portrayal of this very real and devastating experience—one that real children have endured at the hands of rich and awful people—was unsettling. If I read another account of this horrific experience framed as narrative texture or character development, I may scream.
However, the fact that this book provoked such strong reactions—so many thoughts, emotions, and points of resistance—speaks to the author’s skill. The writing is vivid enough that the average reader is likely to react and feel deeply. In that sense, the book may succeed in doing exactly what the author intended.
I wanted to like this book. The author’s descriptive writing is strong: the hotel and its surroundings are described with vivid imagery that immediately draws the reader in, and the fast-paced plot kept me engaged to the very end.
That said, there was a great deal I struggled with. One among these issues was the reliance on familiar and overused tropes—most notably, the “working- or lower-middle-class girl is barely accepted into (yet remains obsessed with and deferential toward) a group of reckless rich kids.” Another is the “rich boy who treats the working-class girl as a mildly interesting project while she hangs onto his every word,” as well as the broader trope of “rich kids doing strange and awful things simply because they can.” Each of these felt tired and repetitive, and rather than deepening the story, they consistently pulled me out of it.
Another was the extensive philosophical theorizing by the so-called “Olympians.” The repeated discussions about “living interestingly,” along with debates about existentialism, free will, and choice, came across as both pretentious and unnecessary to the movement of the plot. Instead of adding depth, these moments felt distracting.
I also felt the protagonist was subjected to unnecessary trauma, particularly in relation to the event she experienced at the age of ten or eleven. Given the current state of the world, encountering yet another fictionalized portrayal of this very real and devastating experience—one that real children have endured at the hands of rich and awful people—was unsettling. If I read another account of this horrific experience framed as narrative texture or character development, I may scream.
However, the fact that this book provoked such strong reactions—so many thoughts, emotions, and points of resistance—speaks to the author’s skill. The writing is vivid enough that the average reader is likely to react and feel deeply. In that sense, the book may succeed in doing exactly what the author intended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
“The Hotel Guest” surprised me. I wasn’t fully sold at the start, but Rosemary Hennigan’s engaging writing style totally pulled me in. (Yes, I briefly confused her with Layne Fargo, the author of “The Favorites”. They both wrote books with the same title.)
Thank you to the author and Park Row Books for providing this gifted ARC via NetGalley.
Kit, working a summer job at a luxury hotel, falls in with a magnetic group of wealthy guests and has a relationship with one of them, JP. Their brief connection leads to a tragic end-of-summer incident that binds the group together as a result of a dark secret they share.
A decade later, Kit is invited back to the hotel. Hennigan slowly teases out what happened that summer, offering just enough hints to keep us leaning in until the final reveal. The atmosphere, the shifting dynamics, and the tension of returning to a place steeped in memory all work well.
With its blend of character drama, buried secrets, and an isolated setting, “The Hotel Guest” is an enjoyable, slow-building suspense read. I’m glad I stuck with it.
Thank you to the author and Park Row Books for providing this gifted ARC via NetGalley.
Kit, working a summer job at a luxury hotel, falls in with a magnetic group of wealthy guests and has a relationship with one of them, JP. Their brief connection leads to a tragic end-of-summer incident that binds the group together as a result of a dark secret they share.
A decade later, Kit is invited back to the hotel. Hennigan slowly teases out what happened that summer, offering just enough hints to keep us leaning in until the final reveal. The atmosphere, the shifting dynamics, and the tension of returning to a place steeped in memory all work well.
With its blend of character drama, buried secrets, and an isolated setting, “The Hotel Guest” is an enjoyable, slow-building suspense read. I’m glad I stuck with it.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This one really worked for me.
I liked it more as I went along, and by the end I was fully invested in what was actually going on beneath the surface. The setting does a lot of the heavy lifting here in the best way possible — the hotel in the French Alps feels isolated, beautiful, and just a little unsettling, which fits the story perfectly.
The book moves between past and present smoothly, and I found myself thinking a lot about memory, guilt, and how much we lie to ourselves to survive certain moments. The characters aren’t meant to be likable all the time, but they’re interesting, and that kept me turning pages. There’s a constant low-level tension rather than nonstop twists, which I appreciated.
It’s not a fast, chaotic read, but it’s thoughtful, moody, and sticks with you once you’re done. If you like character-driven suspense with a strong sense of place and messy human dynamics, this one’s worth picking up.
I liked it more as I went along, and by the end I was fully invested in what was actually going on beneath the surface. The setting does a lot of the heavy lifting here in the best way possible — the hotel in the French Alps feels isolated, beautiful, and just a little unsettling, which fits the story perfectly.
The book moves between past and present smoothly, and I found myself thinking a lot about memory, guilt, and how much we lie to ourselves to survive certain moments. The characters aren’t meant to be likable all the time, but they’re interesting, and that kept me turning pages. There’s a constant low-level tension rather than nonstop twists, which I appreciated.
It’s not a fast, chaotic read, but it’s thoughtful, moody, and sticks with you once you’re done. If you like character-driven suspense with a strong sense of place and messy human dynamics, this one’s worth picking up.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews