Watch Out for Those Showers!

TITLE: Marion

AUTHOR: Leah Rowan

PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press

PUBLISHING DATE: June 2, 2026

PAGES: 336   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: NORMAN WAS HER FIRST. 

Marion is in deep. She's stolen money from the Manhattan ad agency where she works in a desperate bid to help her sister escape an abusive marriage, but the bus breaks down before she can make it to Saratoga Springs. It's late at night, and the only place with vacancies is an old set of cabins on the outskirts of town. She pays for a room in cash, and ends up chatting with Norm, the young innkeeper who's handsome, charming and a touch hung-up on his elderly mother. Back in her room, she steps into the shower, scrubbing off the late-summer heat, when the curtain is pulled back... 

Norm Billings is there with a knife. He raises his arm to strike, but before he does, Marion knees him in the balls, grabs the knife, and stabs the life out of him. Now, she's covered in blood, and she's a woman on the run—not just a thief, but a killer, too. Where will she go? How will she save both herself and her sister? And what mysteries will she uncover as she does? 

In Psycho, Hitchcock shocked audiences when he killed off his protagonist. But what if the leading lady had fought back? Marion offers an alternate history of the most famous dead blonde to ever grace the silver screen. Only this time, the knife is in her hands—and she's no victim.

MY THOUGHTS: I have always enjoyed Psycho and especially loved the series, Bates Motel, which was on AMC several years ago (if you haven't checked it out, do so).  So, when I saw this was novel was Psycho adjacent, I know I had to pick it up.  And I'm telling you, it's a decision I never once regretted while reading.

Marion lives in New York and works at an ad agency.  She basically does the job of several people, including her boss and is always getting passed over for promotions.  Marion also has a sister whom she feels she has to care for, even though she is the younger of the two.  Marion believes her sister is being abused by her controlling husband and wants more than anything to help her. So, one weekend, an opportunity to do that falls into Marion's lap.  She runs off with a bunch of company money and when the bus to her sister's town breaks down, has to check into the Billings Hotel.  Enter Norm and if you know the story behind Psycho at all, everything takes off from here.

I really liked Marion as a character, although I'm not sure the reader is supposed to. Oh, and her name isn't Marion, that's just how she checks into the hotel.  She makes some pretty unhinged choices throughout a lot of the book, but I could see how those decisions became rooted and I really never blamed her for them.  She desperately wants to protect her sister and throughout the book, the reader gets glimpses into Marion's childhood which help explain where she is coming from.  I also enjoyed all the murders and how Rowan weaved the traditional Psycho characters into the tale in some unusual ways.  

My only real critique is that halfway through the book, Hannah, a wannabe private investigator, starts investigating what is going on and her sections through the timeline a bit out of whack for me.  Also, while I enjoyed the sections from Hannah's POV, I wasn't overly pleased with her role at the end.

Overall, I had a blast watching Marion become unhinged and seeing some truly awful characters get some pretty awful endings.  This book is classified as horror, which I feel isn't really accurate, so just beware it's more like a thriller with some horrific things happening.  I actually feel the horror label might turn some people away and I think this book could really have a wider audience if publicized as a thriller.  Please, if you too are fascinated by Norman Bates and "Mother," this one is worth checking out.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS