See the cover for new thriller that imagines an Alfred Hitchcock themed hotel

When it comes to bringing audiences to the edge of their seats, no one does it quite like Alfred Hitchcock.

So, author Stephanie Wrobel decided why try to outdo the master (of suspense)? Instead, she uses his films as inspiration for her new thriller, The Hitchcock Hotel, for which EW can exclusively debut the cover.

As founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, Alfred Smettle is not merely a run-of-the-mill fan of the director's work. The hotel, situated in a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains, offers round-the-clock movie screenings, a collection of props and memorabilia in each room, and for lovers of The Birds, an aviary with fifty crows.

When Alfred invites his former best friends from his college film club to the hotel to celebrate its first anniversary, they come carrying long-held secrets and grudges. After all, he hasn't spoken to any of them in sixteen years after a mysterious, unspeakable event. And once they arrive, they come to the grim realization that Hitchcock plots also require a body.

EW caught up with Wrobel to get the story behind her inspiration for the novel. Check out the cover and read our interview below.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was the first Hitchcock movie you saw and why did his work capture your imagination?

STEPHANIE WROBEL: I watched North by Northwest during a film studies class in college — sound familiar? — but it wasn't until I saw Psycho a few years later that I was captivated. Hitchcock almost always gave his audience more information than he gave his characters, yet he still kept you on the edge of your seat. Not an easy feat!

What inspired you to create a mystery built around a Hitchcock-themed hotel?

I was thinking about masters of the craft. A number of thriller writers have paid homage to Agatha Christie in recent years, but I hadn't read much about Hitchcock. I became particularly interested in the genre switch he pulled off with Psycho. For the first half of the movie, the viewer thinks she's watching a crime caper. With the infamous shower scene, though, she's pulled into an entirely different film — a psychological thriller. I wanted to attempt a genre switch with this book.

What came first — the locked room idea or the Hitchcock concept, and how did you decide to merge them?

They came simultaneously. The kernel of the idea was always a Hitchcock-themed hotel, where the guests show up and Hitchcockian things start happening to them, without any hope of escape.

If you were to stay at a Hitchcock hotel, sans the thriller elements, what theme/room would you choose?

It's hard to beat the glamour of To Catch A Thief. Gorgeous movie stars! Elegant costumes! The French Riviera! Otherwise I'd probably choose the Rebecca room. The Daphne du Maurier book from which Hitchcock adapted his movie is one of my favorites of all time.

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