The Book of Doors
by Gareth Brown
Contents
Book People
Overview
Lottie Moore learns the Book of Doors is in New York and hires Azaki to retrieve it, adding a personal condition: if Isabella Cattaneo is found alone, she must be delivered to Lottie as well. In New York, Drummond Fox—armed with three special books—spots Cassie and Isabella, but they vanish through an ordinary doorway, confirming his suspicion that the Book of Doors is active. Meanwhile, Hugo Barbary tails Drummond to learn what books keep him hidden, and in London a brutal woman seeking the Fox Library kills Marion Grace after learning the Book of Joy was sent to Drummond, then spreads despair into an innocent child.
Summary
In New Orleans, Lottie Moore—the Bookseller—receives an email confirming the Book of Doors has surfaced in New York. After considering her options, she calls the book hunter Azaki, whom she knows distrusts her. Lottie offers profit and secrecy in exchange for retrieving the Book of Doors before it becomes a “feeding frenzy” among hunters.
Azaki cautiously confirms he is in “South America” and listens as Lottie shares what she knows. He says he will travel to New York with a new bodyguard, and Lottie adds an unusual demand: if Isabella Cattaneo is found alone, Azaki must bring Isabella to Lottie as well. Azaki does not commit outright, but agrees to get to New York and contact Lottie once there; Lottie reflects that Isabella is her real priority because of a promise she intends to keep.
In New York, Drummond Fox wakes with a strong urgency to find the two women he saw the previous night. He prepares by taking three special books—the Book of Luck, the Book of Shadows, and the Book of Memories—resisting the temptation to use the Book of Memories to erase his own past. He wanders the snowy city “trusting to his luck” until he spots the two women again on the Upper East Side, but they vanish before he can reach them, apparently slipping through the first doorway available; Drummond becomes convinced this is the work of the Book of Doors.
Unbeknownst to Drummond, Dr. Hugo Barbary shadows him throughout the day, using bribery at the Library Hotel to track his movements. Hugo believes Drummond must possess powerful books to have stayed hidden for ten years, and Hugo hopes to claim such advantages for himself before other dangerous rivals do.
In London that evening, Marion Grace arrives to meet her sister, but instead finds a beautiful, terrifying woman seated across from her. The woman states Marion’s sister is “gone,” interrogates Marion about the Fox Library, and reacts when Marion admits she once had the Book of Joy but sent it to Drummond over ten years ago to keep it from the woman. With a touch, the woman kills Marion painfully and quickly; afterward, seething with disappointment, she walks to Westminster Bridge and uses the Book of Despair to pour misery into a passing young girl, leaving the child wailing and spiritually ruined.
Who Appears
- Lottie Moore (the Bookseller)Receives intel on the Book of Doors; hires Azaki and demands Isabella be brought to her.
- AzakiCautious book hunter recruited by Lottie; agrees to go to New York with a new bodyguard.
- Drummond FoxFormer Librarian carrying three special books; spots Cassie and Isabella, then loses them through a doorway.
- The woman with the Book of DespairInterrogates Marion about the Fox Library, kills her, and spreads despair into a child on Westminster Bridge.
- Marion GraceReclusive woman confronted in London; reveals she sent the Book of Joy to Drummond and is murdered.
- Dr. Hugo BarbaryBook hunter who secretly trails Drummond, hoping to learn and seize the books protecting him.
- Isabella Cattaneo (Izzy)Named target in Lottie’s plan; Lottie orders Azaki to capture and deliver her if found alone.
- Young girl on Westminster BridgeInnocent victim touched by the Book of Despair; immediately overwhelmed by misery and terror.