Grand Opening (The Girl and the Ghost #3) by Jacqueline Harvey

Title: Grand Opening (The Girl and the Ghost #3)

Author: Jacqueline Harvey

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Penguin Australia

Published: 19^th May 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 368

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: A hotel opening, a budding romance, a missing locket and . . . a ghost.

Josephine Eloise Thomas and her family are getting ready for the grand opening of their hotel. And with the surprise gifting of a beautiful tabby kitten from Josephine’s next-door neighbours, the Martins, things are looking up. Until chaos strikes.

To start, the criminal mastermind Anastasia, hellbent on exacting revenge on Josephine, is still on the run. Then, the historical significance of Josephine’s locket having been purchased by Louis XVII becomes common knowledge, so Josephine needs to keep her valuable jewel out of harm’s way. And with their new housekeeper and guests roaming the chateau as it becomes a hotel, she must keep her family safe too.

What’s more, Gabriel Barbier, the gorgeous French boy she thought was her very good friend, is caught up working on an art project with the beautiful new girl, Maude, and seems to have no time for Josephine.

Are the antics at the chateau just accidents or sabotage? How long can Josephine keep Louis a secret from her family? Will Maude get in the way of a budding romance for Josephine and Gabriel? And can the family’s hotel open successfully?

~*~

The third book in The Girl and the Ghost series is here, and it’s almost time for the chateau to open to guests. But before that can happen, things need to arrive, her dad needs to finish the last few things, and they need to pick up a special birthday present for Ellie at Beaudelaire’s. Except, the store owner is fascinated by Jet’s locket, which was made at the jewellery maker in the 1700s and bought by Louis XVII. Things get complicated when she leaves it to get valued, and soon it becomes common knowledge, and Jet is determined to keep it away from everyone. But between the new kitten from their new neighbours in the chateau next door, everyone knowing about the locket, and the spectre of Anastasia Ivanoff hanging over her, Jet wants to keep the locket as close as possible.

Who can she trust? Can she tell someone other than Gabriel and Harriet about Louis, and will they believe her? As Jet navigates the chaos that opening the chateau brings, grappling with feeling like Gabriel is in love with someone else, and everything that could possibly go wrong going wrong every day, she’s not sure the opening will go off without a hitch.

The third book in this series is getting into the thick of things, where Louis and Jet’s secret might come out into the open. It picks up where the last one left off, and delves further into Louis’s mystery as well as the family dynamics that shape the novel. In this one, there were times I felt Jet was lonely as she navigated changes with her relationships, but I did love the way Maude came through for her at one stage, which I felt started to shape their friendship. Yet, everyone being fascinated by her locket made me feel uneasy as well, uneasy for Jet and well aware that anyone could reveal something about it to the pesky journalist or Anastasia Ivanoff.

It’s a great mystery, as it explores legends and history, stories and the challenges of moving countries and starting a new business venture. Everything Jacqueline has done in the first two books is coming together in this one slowly. There’s still the question of Anastasia to deal with in the coming books, as well as Louis and his great love, Madeleine Aubert, the girl in the painting who looks eerily like Jet.

There’s something joyful about this book and series, even though I am not the target audience for them. It has a perfect balance of mystery, history, romance, friendship and everything else that has made Jacqueline’s other books so beloved. There’s a joy in reading these books as an adult, because it is a reminder of what it was like to be Jet’s age, and I get to travel to a wonderful place that is vibrant and filled with history. And when people can’t travel, travelling via the page is magical and one of the best things ever.

I can sense there is much more to come, and I hope Maude gets to help Gabriel and Jet with Louis and his mysterious fate because I did like her and think she might be a fun addition. Like Jet, I am a bit sceptical of the Martins. They feel too good to be true.

This is such a good addition to the series, and I devoured it. Onto more reading and hopefully finishing reading the Alice-Miranda series too.