Havoc

Rejoice, fans of HBO’s popular White Lotus series! Christopher Bollen delivers a wickedly delightful literary equivalent with The Lost Palace, set in the posh but faded grandeur of the Royal Karnak Palace Hotel. Basking in the Saharan sun and nestled alongside the Nile in Luxor, Egypt, the hotel lies within spitting distance of ancient antiquities.

Like White Lotus, this novel explores the interactions between guests and employees, all shaped by their psychological dysfunctions.

Maggie Burkhardt, 81, left Milwaukee to live in Europe’s fine old hotels after the deaths of her beloved husband and daughter. She’s stayed in eighteen European hotels but mysteriously fled her last stop in Switzerland in the middle of the night, leaving behind a cloud of suspicion about her possible involvement in a guest’s murder. Everyone assumes Maggie is a sweet, kindly widow enjoying her final years. But Maggie is anything but. An unreliable narrator, she insists her purpose in life is “to change people’s lives for the better.” In reality, she has no qualms about inserting herself into others’ lives, especially when she believes they’re on the wrong path.

Set during the waning days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the novel is steeped in an all-pervasive sense of isolation and paranoia. Maggie often mentions her reliance on “risperidones” (a popular antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), debating whether to take one—or double up. As events unfold, Maggie’s true nature and motivations become increasingly clear.

Maggie’s life takes a sharp turn when new mother Tess Seeger and her eight-year-old son, Otto, check into the hotel without a husband in tow. Ever the busybody, Maggie begins snooping into their lives, hoping to uncover and fix perceived dysfunctions. But her meddling sets off a dangerous chain of events. Otto, far from an innocent child, proves to be a cunning and worthy adversary. Blackmail and the destruction of personal belongings are just a few tools in his arsenal. A twisted game of cat and mouse ensues, with escalating stakes and Otto often a step ahead in their battle of wits.

Christopher Bollen masterfully weaves multiple intersecting plotlines, escalating intrigue and tension with precise prose and compelling characterizations. The narrative builds to an explosive denouement filled with violence and revelations, all shrouded in dread and mental instability. Themes of grief, the inevitability of aging, and varying degrees of psychosis are explored with nuance and depth.

This addictive page-turner is a must-read for aficionados of psychological thrillers. I eagerly await Bollen’s next work.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for providing an uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review