The Grand Babylon Hôtel

When American millionaire Theodore Racksole's daughter is refused steak and beer at London's most exclusive hotel, he does what any reasonable father would do: he buys the entire establishment. But Edwardian luxury curdles into something far more dangerous when staff begin vanishing, a German prince goes missing, and a guest turns up dead. Bennett delivers a marvelously constructed mystery wrapped in silk and gilt: a tale where champagne flows, fortunes are wagered over dinner, and murder is merely another item on the menu. The plot zips from opulent dining rooms to hidden passages, balancing razor-sharp social satire with genuine tension. Nella, initially dismissed as a pampered heiress, proves far more resourceful than either the conspirators or her doting father anticipated. The Grand Babylon Hotel, modeled on the Savoy, becomes a character unto itself: a glittering cage where class boundaries dissolve under the pressure of greed, blackmail, and cold-blooded murder. Bennett writes with the confidence of a man who knows exactly how to entertain, and this 1902 serial gem proves he still does.