The Reckoning (17 page)

HOTEL MARCHAND

Founded on dreams.

Nurtured by love. Threatened by revenge.

A new eight-book continuing series from Signature Select
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I
t's Mardi Gras season in New Orleans. At no other time of year does the city feel so alive, especially in the famed and historic narrow streets of the French Quarter. Visitors come flocking from across the country and beyond to take part in all the season has to offer. The charming hotels and internationally renowned cuisine call some; the parades and all-night partying lure others.

The famed parades won't start until two Fridays before Fat Tuesday, but the season officially opens tonight—January 6, Twelfth Night.

Tucked away to the east of Jackson Square in one of the original blocks of the French Quarter is the Hotel Marchand. A family-run, four-star establishment, the hotel continues to attract a longtime loyal clientele as well as new guests wishing to experience the blend of hospitality and charm for which the Marchand family is famous. The lush courtyards offer privacy and quiet, yet guests seeking the rowdy
fun of the Quarter need only walk a few blocks to be in the thick of the action on Bourbon Street.

This Mardi Gras season there are a few changes at the hotel. Charlotte, the oldest of the Marchand sisters, is still in charge, running the business with the efficiency her family and guests have come to rely on, but this is the first year that her mother Anne is not at her side. Anne's heart attack a few months ago made the sisters realize that it was time their mother slowed down a bit. But how could they ever get Anne to start taking it easy?

Sylvie, Renee and Melanie left New Orleans to follow their dreams. Sylvie has been home for a year, but if their mother needs them, all four sisters will be there for her. They know that Anne will only consider reducing her workload if they step in to take her place. The hotel was the inspiration and life dream of Anne and her late husband, Remy, and no one but family can run it as far as Anne is concerned.

The decision is made. The four Marchand sisters are home to stay.

Adjustments have been many, but it looks as if the Hotel Marchand and its new staff members are ready for the biggest season of the year. What Charlotte and her sisters don't realize is that someone is working from inside the hotel to destroy their parents' dream and their childhood home. As if that isn't enough, an unexpected power failure will set events in motion that guarantee as much excitement and drama inside
the hotel as outside in the streets of the French Quarter.

The chaotic season will not mask sibling rivalries, mother-daughter tensions, family secrets, plans for revenge, illegal ventures and economic worries, but as so often happens in life, good times spring from bad.

At the Hotel Marchand, the Mardi Gras season brings a generous dose of mystery and danger along with the usual revelry. This backdrop of dark intrigue will lead to new revelations and discoveries, and of course the all-encompassing one is love….

…NOT AT END…