The Black Moth

Mave Michael #2

by Carolyne Topdjian

The riveting new Mave Michael novel from the acclaimed author of The Hitman's Daughter!


Ever since the hitman’s daughter, Mave Michael Francis learned she is the owner of a crumbling grand hotel, life has been upside-down. Not only is she struggling to fit into her new role and to reconcile with her incarcerated father, but a string of bizarre burglaries is plaguing the nearby village. Meanwhile, the hotel director is running ghost tours to drum up desperately-needed revenue, and Mave’s staff is scrambling to host an over-the-top goth wedding. Mave needs to ensure the event is a success to rescue the hotel from bankruptcy. But when she discovers the mask of the Château du Ciel’s rumored ghost in the defunct greenhouse where the wedding ceremony is booked, her priorities fracture.
Months ago, the supposed ghost, Holden Frost saved Mave’s life, then vanished into thin air. It’s an enigma and debt she can’t forget. As she plans for the big wedding by day, Mave secretly digs into Holden’s true identity and disappearance by night. Her search takes her to the most sinister place: the darknet. And instead of answers to decode Holden’s whereabouts, she attracts a stranger online who also wants Holden Frost found—and who will kill Mave’s father in prison unless Mave delivers Holden’s location, dead or alive. Tick tock.
As the clock winds down to the wedding and her father’s potential murder, Mave becomes increasingly ensnarled in Holden’s troubled past. And while she’s being used as bait to raise Holden from the dead, the stranger online may be closing in for the kill—and may be closer to her at the hotel, than her father in prison.

Genres: Thriller Suspense

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2023

About the author

Carolyne Topdjian is the author of the critically acclaimed gothic novels The Hitman’s Daughter and The Black Moth. Shortlisted for the Ghost Prize by Fractured Literary, her work has appeared in PRISM International, Dreamers Magazine, Firewords Quarterly and elsewhere. She is a grant recipient from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Mississauga Arts Council, holds an interdisciplinary PhD, and is a professor of fine arts at Humber Polytechnic, Toronto. Fittingly, she’s lived in a 100-year-old haunted house for over a decade.

Reviews

[Carolyne Topdjian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so excited to bring you this edgy, nail-biting sequel to THE HITMAN’S DAUGHTER! THE BLACK MOTH is brimming with more treacherous secrets, shady hotel guests, hair-raising ghosts, brooding anti-heroes, gothic darkness, and of course, thrilling twists! Thank you to all the readers, librarians, and reviewers for their support and enthusiasm for this series. I hope you love returning to Mave’s story as much as me!

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Booklist for the ARC! I was so excited to review for Carolyne Topdjian again!

Mave Michael Francis returns to Château du Ciel, not as a shopgirl but as the historic hotel's new owner. As she strives to fit into her new role, Mave receives a sinister message via the dark web: her father, jailed hit man Cain Francis, is in danger. Mave must find Holden, the Spirit of Dead Poets, or her father will pay the price. Mave has been searching for Holden ever since he saved her life, but now the clock is ticking. She must harness her clairvoyant and sleuthing abilities, digging deep into the history of the Château and its surrounding village. The chilling sense of place of the Château features predominantly: it could be considered a character. This follow-up to The Hitman’s Daughter (2022) is another thrilling ride from Topdjian. The juxtaposition between Mave’s high-tech dive into the dark web and her physical search through the decaying grounds will disorient readers in the most delicious way. Mave is tough and brave as usual; readers will continue to root for her. Highly recommended for mystery horror fans. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

[Paulette Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the second book in her acclaimed Mave Michael series, Topdjian continues to deliver page-turning moments of action and intrigue within the Château du Ciel’s haunted walls.

Mave, now the owner of the famed, but beleaguered grand hotel, is tasked with coordinating an over-the-top Goth themed wedding. With the hotel’s future and her livelihood on the line, the last thing Mave needs is to become embroiled in another crime investigation. But when a mysterious mask that once belonged to Holden Frost turns up in the Château’s gloriously gothic greenhouse, and a stranger on the dark web begins threatening her father’s life, Mave has no choice but to use her wits and her growing skills as a medium to uncover the truth behind Holden’s disappearance and stop a killer before he strikes close to home again.

With a twist I never saw coming, Topdjian’s latest gothic mystery held me in its grasp from beginning to end!

[Karen Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Carolyne Topdjian’s first novel, THE HITMAN’S DAUGHTER, but I actually love this twisty follow-up, THE BLACK MOTH, even more!

You don’t need to read the first book to follow this storyline (though I highly recommend you do!). From page one you will be immediately pulled into this suspenseful gothic thriller. Mave Michael, the daughter of an infamous hitman, has recently inherited a crumbling, haunted chateau from her late grandmother. She’s determined to keep the hotel afloat by offering ghost tours and wedding bookings, but her family’s notorious past catches up to her when she learns her jailed father might be in danger. In order to save him, Mave needs to track down her old love, Holden, who previously disappeared without a trace. Meanwhile, the local village is hit with a series of strange burglaries that only Mave, with her clairvoyant skills, can help solve. Is this all connected? Is Holden still alive? Can Mave save her father—and also the chateau? And what about the town’s police officer, to whom Mave finds herself attracted? From the dark web to the local village to the eerie, atmospheric sections of the old hotel, Mave is in a race against time to uncover the truth and save many things including, ultimately, herself.

Carolyne Topdjian is a master of suspense and storytelling.

[Malia Márquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisty and atmospheric, The Black Moth reunites us with a grief-stricken Mave Michael as she picks herself up out of the (literal) ashes and works to save her recently inherited haunted hotel from financial ruin. However, mysterious robberies in town and threatening messages from an anonymous dark web user distract her from her mission. She wants nothing more than to leave behind the more shadowy legacy of her family’s underworld connections and past transgressions— but she’s too well trained for that. So with the voice of her assassin father echoing in her head, she seeks to expose a looming threat to her life and livelihood, understand a ghost who just won’t quit, and maybe, just maybe, find a bit of peace and human connection after a childhood marked by violence and isolation.
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[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Mave Michael series and has many of the elements that I loved in The Hitman's Daughter. I would say this one is even better than the first, partially because I was already invested in all the characters! Carolyne Topdjian has a beautiful and lyrical writing style and she masters the mix of mystery and gothic thriller into an electrifying page turner. I love Mave's spunky character and all the details around the hotel and it's rich atmosphere and history. Really recommend if you would like something that combines some elements of mystery, horror, and gothic but is highly readable and beautifully written.

[Sarah McLellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just love the vibes of this universe - the gothic, haunted hotel gets me every time. This was a 3.5 star read for me. The storyline was enjoyable but didn’t suck me in. The writing was an improvement from the first one and so was the story telling. Where it lost me was that I felt left wanting more. The connection to Katie was such an awesome addition to the storyline but I couldn’t feel the depth of connection between Mave and Holden or her father. Finally, the editing could have been a lot stronger.
Overall, it’s worth the read.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goth still exists, even darker. Chateau of the clouds, now owned by M&M, hitman Cain's daughter. SPD, the Spirit of Dead Poets, a smoky ghost of a man, masked, with an armful of poetry, who is represented on the dark web by Bek-187. Katie, a spirited girl with an angry villain of a brother. Ren Rawlings, helpful hot cop. Black moths are brought in for a black wedding, why not, it is death of independence for brides.
3 knocks, eyes can't see, observe only what a ghost gives. "Love is a smoke, made with the fume of sighs", Shakespeare.

[Ashlee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

So I didn't read the first book but just picked this up and found the premise to be enticing. It was a bit slow for me, it probably picked up towards the end though that was short-lived. I'm sure I would have appreciated this book more if I'd read the first so take this all with a grain of salt!

[a · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD! so very intense it will drive you crazy, in a good way...:)

[Sarah Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read and a great follow up to her last novel - the Hitman’s Daughter. The details put the reader right in the action and the intrigue compels you to keep reading. Highly recommend!

[Jay Kots · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great follow-up to the Hitman's daughter! I really enjoyed the pacing, atmosphere and the action. It was a nice conclusion to this suspensful story. Highly recommended!!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read even if you didn’t read #1

[Casie Bazay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was so good. Sometimes, I'm a little worried I won't like a sequel as much as the first book, but that turned out not to be a concern at all with The Black Moth! In this story, we follow Mave Michaels, who's recently inherited a haunted, gothic, aging hotel from her late grandmother. The descriptions of the hotel, alone, are spectacular, and Topdjian does such a good job at making the hotel into a fascinating character all its own. I was hooked by the premise from the very beginning, wondering if Mave's love interest from the previous book had, indeed, survived the fiery rescue that occurred at the end of that story. I also questioned if he'd ever been alive at all (or had merely been a ghost) But no spoilers here!

A murder occurs somewhere around the halfway point and then there are numerous twists and turns--exactly what every reader wants in a good suspense novel. The prose is also outstanding. Highly recommend both The Hitman's Daughter and The Black Moth!