My traditional publishing debut Smile for the Cameras is a love letter to slasher movies born from my infatuation with all things cinema. For my sophomore release, Scary Movie Night, I wanted to explore a similar movie-inspired world through a different lens. Enter Hitchcock and his canon of films simmering with suspense.
Scary Movie Night is a locked-room thriller about a movie-themed birthday party gone wrong. It stars Tippi, a movie review blogger who is celebrating her thirty-fifth birthday and mourning her broken engagement. Before heading to Europe to embark on her next scene, she reluctantly agrees to reunite with old friends at her grandmother’s beautiful estate. The gathering turns sinister when she starts receiving birthday cards from her controlling ex and deteriorates further when one of the dinner guests dies under mysterious circumstances.
It’s a twisty, cinematic summer read that pulls inspiration from some of my favorite iconic scary movies. If you’re constructing your own summer reading list and love Hitchcockian themes, then check out these book recommendations inspired by the auteur’s most famous works.
*
If you love Psycho, read Marion by Leah Rowan.
Hitchcock made horror history with Psycho, killing off the movie’s biggest star, Janet Leigh, in the first forty-five minutes. Have you ever wondered how the film would have unfolded if that iconic shower scene hadn’t ended with Marion Crane’s blood circling the drain?
Enter Leah Rowan’s summer blockbuster Marion. The two stories unfold in familiar fashion: Marion steals money from her employer in hopes of helping her sister and flees to a roadside motel run by a peculiar caretaker. However, in this feminist reimagining, the famous shower scene is only the beginning of the blood-soaked events that occur–and a fed-up Marion is the one wielding the knife.
If you love Rear Window, read Molka by Monika Kim.
Rear Window encompasses some great thriller elements: a frustrated, apartment-bound protagonist, a dazzling cast of side characters, and the subtle suggestion of violence. It’s a story that’s been reworked on the page and screen countless times, each iteration leaving us with questions about how much we really know our neighbors.
A modern take on the Peeping Tom to murder pipeline is Monika Kim’s Molka. This paranoia-inducing novel infiltrates the world of hidden spy cameras in Seoul and the havoc they can wreak on a person’s life. Dahye, our capable and biting protagonist, refuses to take this invasion of privacy lying down, and what unfolds is a truly unforgettable tale about voyeurism and revenge.
If you love Rope, read The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes.
Hitchcock’s Rope focuses on two disturbed friends attempting to get away with murder all while hosting a dinner party at the scene of the crime. This one-room production filled with great performances and witty dialogue just might take the crown as my favorite Hitchcock film.
If you’re a fan of the dinner party gone wrong trope, you have to check out Raphael Montes’ upcoming novel The Secret Dinner (already an international bestseller!). At first glance, the two storylines may seem worlds apart, but I found myself admiring the overlap between stories: a group of friends with complicated histories, the heart-pounding pressure of trying to conceal a crime, a chic city setting, and multiple unhinged dinner parties.
If you love Strangers on a Train, read The Collective by Alison Gaylin.
Strangers on a Train, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, has a brilliant premise: two strangers swap murders in the hope their involvement will remain undetectable (even if one participant is more committed than the other).
Alison Gaylin’s The Collective explores a similar philosophy. Camille’s grief over her daughter’s death turns into a fixation on the man she deems responsible. She finds herself involved with a secretive group of women that take turns enacting each other’s revenge fantasies. Nothing can go wrong if the guys getting attacked are bad people, right? Right!?
If you love them all, read The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel.
Can’t decide on a favorite Hitchcock film? It’s a hard task, I know! Stephanie Wrobel’s The Hitchcock Hotel utilizes the best elements of the director’s catalog to create a completely original mystery. Alfred is the owner of a boutique hotel that pays tribute to the master of suspense (and his namesake). He invites his former college roommates to the hotel for the weekend, and a murderous revenge plot unfolds.
This book is littered with Hitchcockian breadcrumbs and sneaky twists.
If you don’t have a favorite Hitchcock film, but love the vibes, read The Spin by Faith Gardner.
Faith Gardner’s latest The Spin, a novel about a woman’s involuntary commitment to a psychiatric institute, captures the glamour and nuance of the sixties brilliantly. The story unfolds through the eyes of the afflicted woman’s husband, her strong-willed teenage daughter, and her judgmental mother-in-law, each POV providing insight into a society that feels forgotten and frighteningly familiar in equal measure.
***
