The Glass Hotel

An incredible story set at the sparkling confluence of two apparently unrelated events—a colossal Ponzi scheme collapse and the inexplicable disappearance of a lady from a ship at sea—from the award-winning author of Station Eleven.

Vincent works as a barman at the five-star Hotel Caiette, which is located on Vancouver Island's northernmost point. The inscription "Why don't you swallow broken glass" is inscribed by a hooded person on the glass wall of the foyer the evening she meets Jonathan Alkaitis. A bigger crime is being perpetrated high above Manhattan: Alkaitis is operating a global Ponzi scam and transferring fictitious quantities of money via the accounts of his customers. A collapse of the banking empire destroys lives and wipes out countless riches. After pretending to be Jonathan's wife, Vincent leaves into the night. A fraud victim is recruited years later to look into an odd incident involving a lady who seems to have disappeared off the deck of a cargo ship between ports of call.

Emily St. John Mandel transports readers through many undiscovered settings in this gripping tale of crisis and survival, including luxury hotel services, underground electronic music clubs, camping for the almost destitute, the world of international shipping, and life behind bars. The Glass Hotel, a haunting portrayal of greed and remorse, love and illusion, ghosts and unintended consequences, and the many ways we look for meaning in our lives, is full of surprising beauty.