Genre: Adult- Mystery
Publication Date: 2014
Page Count: 340
Rating: 5/5
Add on Goodreads
Fifteen years ago, a murder-suicide in room 712 rocked the grand old Bellweather Hotel and the young bridesmaid who witnessed it, Minnie Graves. Now hundreds of high school musicians have gathered at the Bellweather for the annual Statewide festival; Minnie has returned to face her demons; and a blizzard is threatening to trap them all inside. When a young prodigy disappears from infamous room 712, the search for her entwines an eccentric cast of conductors and caretakers, teenagers on the verge and adults haunted by memories. A genre-bending page-turner, full of playful nods to pop-culture classics from The Shining to Agatha Christie to Glee, Bellweather Rhapsody is a winning new novel from a writer to watch. Goodreads
I heard about this novel in a haul video on Books and Quills Youtube channel and it sounded so perfect for my reading mood at the time. I just watching The Shinning a few months ago and really loved it, so I was interested in the comparison, and I've been craving creepy media to consume lately. I picked this up from the library and dove in not knowing much beyond that, and I really, really enjoyed this novel.
This is an adult novel with teenage main characters as well as adult main characters. The mysteries of the hotel and the Statewide Festival weekend unravel slowly, and in pieces, as the novel is told through different characters. There are quite a few characters that play a role in this novel, but they were easy to keep track of and all had a distinct voice and personality. For much of the novel, I was really unsure of how it would end, and then when things began to clear up, Racculia surprised me a few times over. The end of this novel is action packed and surprising and very well done.
This novel was the perfect mix of creepy, quirky, mysterious, and funny. I loved how this novel paid homage to The Shinning and mystery classics, yet was its own unique story. The Bellweather hotel almost becomes a character itself in the novel, and the atmosphere is perfect for the characters and story. I enjoyed that this novel was told through so many perspectives and that they were all so different. The characters range from teenage twins to an eighty-year-old bellhop to a psychopath former music prodigy turned mom and Statewide director, along with a few others. This is a book I can see myself curling up with and rereading in the future, despite already knowing how it ends. The reading experience was so enjoyable.
I'll be keeping my eye on this author to see what she comes up with next, as I really like her style and humor. This is a novel I highly recommend you add to your reading list!
No comments:
Post a Comment