Today I’m joining the blog tour for Upstairs At The Beresford. My review is written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the tour and to Orenda Books for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

There are worse places than hell…

Hotel Beresford is a grand, old building, just outside the city. And any soul is welcome.

Danielle Ortega works nights, singing at whatever dive bar will offer her a gig. She gets by, keeping to herself. Sam Walker gambles and drinks, and can’t keep his hands to himself. Now he’s tied up in a shoe closet with a dent in his head that matches Danielle’s broken ashtray.

The man in 731 has been dead for two days and his dog has not stopped barking. Two doors down, the couple who always smokes on the window ledge will mysteriously fall.

Upstairs, in the penthouse, Mr Balliol sees it all. He can peer into every crevice of every floor of the hotel from his screen-filled suite. He witnesses humanity and inhumanity in all its forms: loneliness, passion and desperation in equal measure. All the ingredients he needs to make a deal.

When Danielle returns home one night to find Sam gone, a series of sinister events begins to unfold. But strange things often occur at Hotel Beresford, and many are only a distraction to hide something much, much darker…

Review:

Before we begin, let me just say I have no idea where to actually begin, and nothing I write in this review will fully convey the absolute madness and genius of Upstairs At The Beresford. Will Carver is a phenomenal writer and I love that his writing makes me think in a way I’ve never come across before with any other writer. There is a lot of discussion around aspects of modern society – sex, relationships, religion – and I love the boldness of this in a complex, yet compelling novel.

Upstairs At The Beresford is set in The Beresford Hotel, an establishment which is home to a number of interesting characters. Although they are not all likeable, Will Carver has created a group of characters that represent a range of people that the reader will recognise, either from their own lives or around the places that they live. This means he is able to present a number of issues to us. It’s not always easy to read and some of the topics are upsetting, but I loved the way the characters are so well observed, and even if I had no experience of the issues they presented, I was able to gain some insight into the difficulties they faced.

I found that Upstairs At The Beresford had a more linear plot than some of Will Carver’s previous novels and being able to follow the story slightly more easily definitely helped me to become more engaged in the novel. As elements of the plot started to come together, I enjoyed the increase in tension and I was intrigued to see how the story would end.

I do hope the Beresford has an opportunity to open its doors again in future.

Upstairs At The Beresford is available from Amazon.

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