Wilkie Collins (01/08/1824 – 09/23/1889) is best known for his detective novels, The Woman in White and The Moonstone. He is often credited with establishing the ground rules of the modern detective story and police procedural.

Both The Woman in White and The Moonstone are doorstoppers—huge and unwieldy at times. The Haunted Hotel, on the other hand, is a more manageable size and adds an extra bit of the supernatural into the detective fiction mix.

The story follows Countess Narona, who marries Lord Montbarry after he abruptly breaks his engagement to the virtuous Agnes Lockwood. The marriage is a disaster, characterized by gloom and financial desperation, eventually leading the couple to move to a decaying palace in Venice. Shortly after their arrival, Lord Montbarry dies under suspicious circumstances, and his courier vanishes without a trace. The Countess collects a significant life insurance payout and flees, while the palace is subsequently renovated and converted into a luxury hotel, setting the stage for a supernatural reckoning.

Years later, members of the Montbarry family and the jilted Agnes Lockwood find themselves drawn to the new hotel in Venice, unknowingly staying in the very rooms where the Lord died. They are plagued by shared premonitions, hideous smells, and ghostly apparitions when staying in the room. 

I enjoyed The Haunted Hotel enough that I have put it onto my to-be-re-read list. Maybe next spring again.

If you have not read it, give it a try!