“The Grand” by Evelyn Chartres —BOOK REVIEW

You will find the Grand nestled atop a cliff that overlooks a cursed valley. Surrounded by foreboding mountains, this ritzy French palatial-style hotel is a place where a roaring party’s success can be measured by its body count. This hotel does not cater to the rich and famous. Instead, its staff and facilities accommodate a clientele with a more discerning palate.

The Grand is a collection of Gothic fantasy stories with an overarching storyline that incorporates supernatural themes. The Roaring Twenties serves as a rich historical, linguistic, and cultural backdrop.

Centred on the Grand’s victims, each story brings a different perspective to the hotel, the staff and their esteemed guests. At the Grand it is always best to remember; even things that go bump in the night need a place to unwind.”

Other books by Evelyn Chartres I have reviewed:
The Van Helsing Paradox

I want to say first that all of Evelyn Chartres’ ebooks are offered absolutely free. If this changes in the future, I will update this note.

“The Grand” presents an array of stories centered around a hotel that caters to the dark desires of the underworld and its creatures. Largely set on a plotline that alternates between the 1920s and the 1940s, it tells of many dark occurrences within the hotel’s walls as well as the backstories of the characters involved in each tale. The chapters which are labeled with dates in the 1920s are the unraveling of those events while the ones labeled in the 1940s are that of a man who has happened upon the lore of the hotel and is desperately trying to understand it.

I read some other reviews where people said the story was confusing, which is why I will say ‘Pay Attention’ because if you do, everything falls into place and makes sense. This isn’t a story you can skim or jump around or you’ll miss something vital. However, if you take your time and give it its due, it’s an interestingly haunting story. Most of the lingo/slang can be inferred by context, but the author has provided a lexicon that defines every term. I also love that there is a sort of Easter egg in one of the later chapters which involves some of the author’s characters from her “Van Helsing” series.

“The Grand” is full of dark horror-esque scenarios in addition to many twists. One of the tales I found especially interesting was that which involved an evil man who always seemed fated to abuse and destroy a certain girl/woman despite what incarnation they were living in. The story isn’t written for those who want answers because as much as is revealed, the mysteries surround the hotel, its clients, and its victims remain as ever present in the beginning as it does in the end.