The Hitman's Daughter (Mave Michael Series #1)

by Carolyne Topdjian

Overview

The Château du Ciel was once the destination for the rich and famous to play, drink and ski—complete with a private railway to shuttle those desiring extra privacy—now, however, the guests are few and far between. The New Year’s Eve party was supposed to hoist the rundown hotel back to its former status, until a massive blizzard hits, trapping the guests who’ve come to celebrate the grand hotel’s last hurrah. The circumstances might even be romantic, if the hotel wasn't reputed to be haunted. 

When hotel employee Mave Michael finds the resident artist dead, and shortly thereafter hotel security finds Mave alone with the body, the reputation that Mave has fought long and hard to outrun comes back to haunt her. You see, her father is a notorious hitman who is serving multiple life sentences in prison. She has changed her name and location dozens of times, but he somehow manages to track her down—even sending her a postcard on the eve of her birthday, January 1st. She’s the perfect choice to frame for murder, and now the number one suspect. 

Mave can no longer deny the lessons in survival her father taught her, and calls on that and her uncanny sixth-sense in “finding” lost objects to navigate the maze of the hotel. To save herself, she not only has to stop running from her own past, she must unearth the history of the hotel, its elite guests and buried secrets—one deadly sin at a time. 

 An homage to classic gothic horror, that proves that the ghosts of family and classism are alive and well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951709587
Publisher:	Agora Books
Publication date:	03/22/2022
Series:	Mave Michael Series , #1
Pages:	350
Sales rank:	1,081,712
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Carolyne Topdjian is a suspense writer with publications in PRISM International, Dreamers Magazine and Firewords Quarterly. She has an interdisciplinary PHD from York Universityand is a professor in the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts at Humber College in Toronto. She is a two-time Pitch Wars mentor and lives in a 112-year-old haunted house. This is her first novel. Find her online at: carolynetopdjian.com and on Twitter @TopdjianC

Editorial Reviews

11/22/2021

In 1991, business at the Château du Ciel, a hotel somewhere in the U.S. and the setting of Topdjian’s middling debut, suffered after guests were awoken early one morning by blaring televisions and an unseen crying infant. Some also experienced migraines or their hair turned white. In 2020, the hotel sends out invitations for a New Year’s Eve party (ominously worded “Soar in luxury, remain forever”) in a last attempt to keep the business afloat. Those who accept don’t get the promised relaxing getaway. A blizzard confines everyone indoors, and an elderly artist living at the chateau is found stabbed to death in her room by employee Mave Michael Francis. In an effort to prove she wasn’t the killer, Mave investigates the closed circle of suspects to uncover the real culprit. Though Mave’s father, an incarcerated assassin, has primed her “since youth into a weapon,” and she has the paranormal ability to locate lost items, she remains an underdeveloped character. The plot twists will surprise few readers. This mix of mystery and the supernatural offers neither genuine scares nor satisfying reveals. Agent: Ann Leslie Tuttle, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 12/01/2021

DEBUT Chateau du Ciel was the place to party until 1991, when all the televisions in the hotel came on at once and the guests heard the haunting sound of a crying baby. The hotel fell into ruin until the final days of 2020, when invitations go out for a last-minute Chateau du Ciel New Year's Eve party. Hotel employee Mave Michael isn't eager to pose in evening wear for the hotel's resident artist, Birdie Everhart, but it feels like a command performance. Birdie seems fascinated by Mave's ability to locate missing items. It's something she keeps hidden as she moves from job to job, using various aliases because she's the daughter of a notorious imprisoned hit man. Somehow, her father seems to find her though, sending her postcards. When Mave finds Birdie's murdered body in her suite, she realizes she's been framed for murder. She'll have to crawl through vents, hide in tunnels, and use a ghost's help to survive. VERDICT This fast-paced haunting novel of survival will appeal to fans of new adult fiction.—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Library Journal

"A fast-paced haunting novel of survival."—Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Topdjian’s debut thriller is intense with foreboding and an eerie sense of place. The past and present perspectives captivate the reader and connect brilliantly to reveal a shocking conclusion. Fans of Jen Williams, Karin Slaughter, and Alex North will enjoy this one!"—Booklist

"Carolyne Topdjian's THE HITMAN'S DAUGHTER nails every classic gothic horror trope in the most elegant of ways, drawing us into a ghostly suspense story with exquisite imagery, lush language and a cast of characters in the tradition of the best whodunits. Sumptuous, sinister, and seductive, I was both charmed and haunted."—Emily Carpenter, author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and The Weight of Lies

"A tense and atmospheric gothic mystery with lots of unexpected twists. Topdjian brings the Château du Ciel to life, with its haunted library, the twisting labyrinth of tunnels beneath it, and the suspicious cast of residents and guests whose pasts are intertwined with the hotel's dark history."—Allison Buccola, author of Catch Her When She Falls

"Suspenseful, haunting and intricate, Topdjian masterfully delivers in this atmospheric debut that will have you on the edge of your seat."—Karen Winn, author of Our Little World

From the Publisher