The Paris Secret
Fiction
William Morrow Paperbacks
November 14, 2017
Paperback
416
Free from publisher
Somewhere along the cobbled streets of Paris, an apartment lies thick with dust and secrets: full of priceless artworks hidden away for decades.
High-flying Fine Art Agent Flora from London, more comfortable with the tension of a million-pound auction than a cosy candlelit dinner for two, is called in to asses these suddenly discovered treasures. As an expert in her field, she must trace the history of each painting and just who has concealed them for so long.
Thrown in amongst the glamorous Vermeil family as they move between Paris and Antibes, Flora begins to discover that things aren't all that they seem, while back at home her own family is recoiling from a seismic shock. The terse and brooding Xavier Vermeil seems intent on forcing Flora out of his family's affairs - but just what is he hiding?
My review:
This is my first foray into reading Karen Swan, and I like what I see! I'm going to call this an adult Nancy Drew, which is a big compliment, as I devoured these books as a kid. The mystery surrounding the artwork reminded me somewhat of the B.A. Shapiro books (The Art Forger and The Muralist), also favorites of mine. The story was intriguing, I loved the art references as well as the idea of working in the auction business. The details revealed that tie the story into the war years was also fascinating, and I couldn't wait to figure out just what was going on (kind of like Nancy Drew 🙂 ). I'm going to sound like a broken record when I say that the only thing I did not like about the book was the romance (why why WHY does there always have to be one of these?). I didn't like the love interest from the beginning, didn't believe that he would change, and just.....ugh! But enough of that, because this book had so much else going for it, that I'm going to pretend that part just didn't exist. The writing was fluid, the end of chapter cliff hangers were spectacular ways to keep me reading, and the way the mystery pans out was interesting and satisfying.
A great read, with art history, mystery, WWII tie-ins, and the proverbial romance (for those that like a little of that on the side). And we can't forget that it's set in Paris, which deserves a look all on its own. I'm impressed with this author's writing style, and will certainly be checking into some of her earlier works.
