PAGANINI’S GHOST by Paul Adam
Cremona, Italy. On the eve of an important performance, local luthier Gianni Castiglione is called on to examine Il Cannone, the violin once played by Niccolò Paganini, which would be played that night by competition winner Yevgeny Ivanov. A minor adjustment is made and at the recital both violin and musician perform flawlessly. The next day, however, a concert attendee, a French art dealer, is found dead in his Cremona hotel. Two items are noted among his possessions: a locked golden box and a torn corner of a music score from the nightâs previous performance. Gianniâs police detective friend, Antonio Guastafeste, enlists his help and the two soon find themselves on an international chase, on the trail of not just a murderer but of a priceless historical treasure, one worth killing for.
January 5, 2011
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Judi Clark ¡ 
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Tags: London, Music, Paris ¡ Posted in: 2011 Favorites, France, italy, Mystery/Suspense, Sleuths Series, United Kingdom
FOREIGN BODIES by Cynthia Ozick
Cynthia Ozick, author of THE SHAWL and TRUST, two of my favorite books, has written a gem of a novel in FOREIGN BODIES. A slithering and taut comedy of errors, this book examines issues of betrayal and trust, literal and emotional exile, regret and rage, Judaism in post-World War II Europe and the meaning of art in one’s life. While based on themes similar to Henry James’ THE AMBASSADORS, this novel is distinctly and uniquely Ozick’s.
November 19, 2010
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Tags: 1950s, Art, Betrayal, Henry James, Paris ¡ Posted in: Contemporary, France, Humorous, Literary, y Award Winning Author
THE CORAL THIEF by Rebecca Stott
Well before Charles Darwin presented the theory of evolution in 1859, there were scientists who thought along similar linesâwho believed that species âwere mutable and that Nature was on the move.â Much like scientists who came even earlier and set forth what were considered equally radical ideas, these people tooâmany of whom were in Franceâwere labeled godless heretics.
When Daniel Connor, a freshly minted medical student, travels to Paris in July 1815, his professor in Edinburgh had already warned him about these âhereticsââalso known as transformists. âParis is riddled with infidels, Professor Jameson had warned me back in Edingburgh. âThey are poets, those French transformists, not men of science,ââ Connor recalls.
November 1, 2009
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Tags: 19th-Century, Heist, Paris, Sciences, Spiegel & Grau, Time Period Fiction ¡ Posted in: Facing History, France
STONE’S FALL by Iain Pears (1)
A panoramic novel with a riveting mystery at its heart, STONE’S FALL is a quest to discover how and why John Stone dies. Chronologically, it moves backwardsâfrom London in 1909 to Paris in 1890, and finally to Venice in 1867â and in the process the quest to uncover the truth plays out against the backdrop of the evolution of high-stakes international finance, Europeâs first great age of espionage, and the start of the twentieth centuryâs arms race.
May 18, 2009
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Tags: 19th-Century, Espionage, Iain Pears, London, Money, Paris, Spiegel & Grau, Time Period Fiction ¡ Posted in: Facing History, France, Mystery/Suspense, Thriller/Spy/Caper, United Kingdom
STONE’S FALL by Iain Pears (2)
Iain Pears’ STONE’S FALL traces back the lives of arms mogul John William Stone and his beautiful wife Elizabeth (aka Lord and Lady Ravenscliff), as well as others around them. The densely detailed novel opens in Paris in March of 1953 as a journalist attends a funeral and is given a package.
May 18, 2009
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Tags: 19th-Century, Espionage, Iain Pears, London, Money, Paris, Time Period Fiction ¡ Posted in: Facing History, France, Mystery/Suspense, Thriller/Spy/Caper, United Kingdom
MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS by Cara Black
Mon Dieu! Elegant Parisian PI, Aimee Leduc, owner of Leduc Detective Agency is back for Murder in the Rue de Paradis, the eighth mystery from author Cara Black. Itâs August 1995, and to Parisians, that means itâs vacation time and everyone who can leave the city departs from the dust and heat for friendlier climes. Aimee, however, isnât taking a vacation. Sheâs just landed a big contract, and feeling pleased with herself, she heads back from her late business meeting. On her way home, out of the blue, Aimeeâs former lover, investigative journalist Yves Robert shows up without explanation.
May 15, 2009
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Tags: P.I., Paris, Soho ¡ Posted in: Sleuths Series