The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins

In a palace in Venice, one man is dead and another has disappeared. But what exactly has happened?






I'd probably describe this as being like a Victorian Agatha Christie novel. It starts off really slow and in parts it's a pretty dull affair. I never really connected with any of the main characters or the plot but slowly it builds up to quite a decent climax.



I think the main reason I didn't connect with this book is it's age. It was written a long time ago.


Wilkie was writing at the same time as Charles Dickens and was apparently a bigger name until he died and then Dickens became the flavour of the month. People wrote differently back then and I did find it a bit of a chore at times. But the plot does crank up a lot towards the end and I ended up rather enjoying it.



The ending is a bit strange but in a good way. I've read a few books by Dickens but I think I prefer Wilkie Collins. I've heard he's wrote much better books so I intend to find out for myself.




3.5/5