The Hotel Monte Sano

by Charles Farley

It’s hot and steamy in the summertime in Alabama, even on top of a mountain, at an exclusive resort hotel for the rich and famous. Fifteen year-old Sophie Franklin doesn’t know what to expect when she arrives there with her family, from New York, in the summer of 1892. But what she finds, beside the opulent Hotel Monte Sano, are a handsome stable boy named Jude who just may turn out to be the first true love of her life and his African American friend Smokey who knows more about what goes on at the hotel than anyone else. And a butchered man, bleeding to death under the hotel’s boardwalk! Shocked and afraid, Sophie’s mother wants to pack the family back to New York. So Sophie can stay, she and Jude and Smokey set out to find the murderer. But what they find is a Gothic maze of Jim Crow bigots, Yankee carpetbaggers, pistol-packing gamblers, menacing ghosts, and revenge seekers determined to settle a Civil War grudge not so long since passed. The Hotel Monte Sano is a fast paced mystery set in a fascinating fin de siècle world of ambition and decadence—when love, at least for the moment, eclipses the mounting tensions between rich and poor, black and white, and North and South.

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2015

About the author

Charles Farley lives in Huntsville, Alabama. He has written for American Libraries, Library Hi-Tech, Library Journal, and Living Blues. His first book was a biography of blues great, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Soul of the Man, published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2010. His second book, entitled Secrets of San Blas and published by Pineapple Press in 2011, is his first novel. It is based on events surrounding an actual murder that occurred in the Spring of 1938 near Port St. Joe, Florida. Its sequel, Secrets of St. Vincent, was published in 2013. The third and final book of the trilogy, Secrets of St. Joe, was published in 2014. Charles' latest book is a mystery love story entitled The Hotel Monte Sano.

Reviews

[Betcei · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is enjoyable if you want to learn more Huntsville, AL history. It is fascinating to be able to picture exactly where building such as the Opera House, the courthouse and the Harrison Brothers (tobacco shop) were in relation to what is in those spots now. The underlying fictional story could have been a little stronger, too much emphasis on the teens spooning, therefore only 3 stars. Otherwise, I enjoyed the book.

[Haley Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have liked this book better if it was simply historical information. The narrative was not for me.

[TheLitLlama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book! This is a great read, especially if you live in Huntsville. I loved all of the history and descriptions of the Old South. I did, however, crave a better follow up on Jude and Sophie's story, but I definitely had a hard time putting this book down as the story began to unfold.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. There was lots of Huntsville history embedded throughout. I found myself constantly googling people, houses, buildings, and hiking trails throughout my reading.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too much name dropping.