Grand Blue Door – Book One is divided up into several chapters, listed to the right. If you’re here for the first time, click on Chapter One to read everything from start to finish. If you’d prefer the Cliffs Notes version, continue reading.

The story takes in place in the resort town of Cape May, New Jersey at the turn of the previous century. An 11 year old orphan girl named Fiona Truitt has been contacted by a distant relative named Edgar who has asked her to come and stay with him for her summer break from boarding school. Edgar owns a mansion turned hotel called the Grand Blue Door. It becomes quickly apparent, however, that it is no ordinary hotel.

The housekeeping and grounds keeping staff are made up of giant humanoid rats. Among the guests are elephant-people, the royal family of the Moon, and one creepy vampire named Archduke Uriah Coe. Creatures like these are still largely unknown to the general public, and the Grand Blue Door hotel allows them a private place to enjoy a vacation with sand, surf, and a little pampering.

Along with the rat-folk, the hotel also employs Egdar’s assistan Mrs. Germaine , head cook Mrs. Musto, head of security Nathaniel Hattigan, and errand boy Lucas: a young orphan boy Fiona’s age.

The day after her arrival, Fiona is grabbed by and rescued by a harpy that appears rather mysteriously in the middle of New Jersey.

Afterward, Fiona is taken to town for a shopping trip. Slipping off by herself, she meets a psychic calling herself Stadibaba. The old woman instantly recognizes her as a child of the Truitt family, and also recognizes St. George blood in her as well, her mother’s family. Intrigued, Stadibaba reads Fiona’s tarot, foretelling betrayal, special gifts, and a terrible crime that has just occurred.

Upon returning to the hotel, it’s discovered that a crime has indeed occurred. A magical jewel belonging to a guest named Joshipura, the queen of the elephantine Gajadhipati race, has gone missing from the hotel safe. She warns of the curse of the Syamantaka gem, that anyone who worships it will amass amazing wealth, but at the cost of their misfortune and inevitable death. The hotel is searched from top to bottom, but only the scepter is found in the vampire Archduke’s coffin. The Archduke denies any wrongdoing. Hattigan and Joshipura’s guard Salar continue to accuse him of the crime, insisting he stole it while everyone was distracted by the harpy. Fiona, however, informs the men that she saw him in his tower while the harpy had her, so it could not have been the vampire at that time.

With a lack of clues, the investigation into the theft is at a standstill, and everyone is a likely suspect.

Lady Joshipura, however, remains calm. According to legend, she says, anyone who gazes upon the Moon on the birthday of her god Ganesh will be proven innocent. Ganesh’s birthday, however, isn’t for another two months. So the wait begins.

Meanwhile, Fiona learns more about her dead father and mother from both Edgar and Mr. Hattigan. Her father was a master monster hunter with the organization known as the Fraternity, and Mr. Hattigan was his partner and best friend. He takes it upon himself to teach her the craft of monster hunting, and Fiona is eager to learn.

Her mother, according to Edgar, was a user of magic. Fiona herself might carry the gift of magic, but there is no one at the hotel suited to teach her.

That’s where we are at in the story at the moment! Thanks for reading!