An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Are you an artist?  Do you enjoy creating or viewing art?  I am not very good at art myself, but I enjoy looking at the work of others.

Frances and George Hazelton have journeyed to France in 1900 to visit the Paris Exposition and to help George’s Aunt Julia investigate a death she suspects was the murder of a famous artist, Paul Ducasse.  Paul was also Aunt Julia’s former lover and father of her child.  Another tragedy strikes and Frances and George are suddenly trying to solve two murder cases during the flurry of the Paris Exposition.  Will they discover the murderer?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was a great cozy mystery.  Reading this book was a great way to relax during a very busy time.

·       I loved Frances and George as a couple and as a crime solving duo.  They worked great together and had wonderful chemistry. 

·       I enjoyed the turn of the century, Paris Exposition setting.  The changing times and business of the exposition added an extra layer to the tale.  I felt emersed in this setting.

·       This is the seventh book in the “A Countess of Harleigh Mystery” series.  This was the first book I’ve read in the series, and it worked for me as a standalone.  I really enjoyed the characters and the mystery.  I will be going back to the start of this series.

·       The mystery was very engaging.  It kept me guessing to the end but left enough breadcrumbs for the ending to be very believable.

Overall, An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder was a very engaging cozy historical mystery.  I really enjoyed it as a standalone and I’m ready to go back and start this series from the beginning!

Book Source:  Review copy from Kensington Books as part of the AustenprosePR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Filled with Victorian-era intrigue for readers of Rhys Bowen, Deanna Raybourn, Tasha Alexander, and Julia Seales, Dianne Freeman’s Agatha Award-winning series takes a delightful jaunt to the City of Light as Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, encounters a murder scene at the Paris Exposition.

Frances and her husband, George, have two points of interest in Paris. One is an impromptu holiday to visit the Paris Exposition. The other is personal. George’s Aunt Julia has requested her nephew’s help in looking into the suspicious death of renowned artist Paul Ducasse. Though Julia is not entirely forthcoming about her reasons, she is clearly a woman mourning a lost love.

At the exposition, swarming with tourists, tragedy casts a pall on the festivities. A footbridge collapses. Julia is among the casualties. However, she was not just another fateful victim. Julia was stabbed to death amid the chaos. With an official investigation at a standstill, George and Frances realize that to solve the case they must dig into Julia’s life—as well as Paul’s—and question everything and everyone in Julia’s coterie of artists and secrets.

They have no shortage of suspects. There is Paul’s inscrutable widow, Gabrielle. Paul’s art dealer and manager, Lucien. Julia’s friend Martine, a sculptress with a jealous streak. And art jurist, Monsieur Beaufoy. The investigation takes a turn when it’s revealed that George has inherited control of Julia’s estate—and another of her secrets. While George investigates, Frances safeguards their new legacy, and is drawn further into danger by a killer determined to keep the past buried.

AUTHOR BIO

Dianne Freeman is the acclaimed author of the Agatha and Lefty Award winning Countess of Harleigh Mysteries, a two-time finalist for the Macavity’s Sue Feder Memorial Award, and a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She spent thirty years working in corporate accounting and finance and now writes full-time. Born and raised in Michigan, she and her husband now split their time between Michigan and Arizona. Visit her at DiFreeman.com.