I wanted to like this one, set in a grungy and messy Paris under King Louis, but in the end it was a little over-written with everything ending just about perfectly. All mysteries are explained – every little detail – and so I think the book was lacking a sense of wonder. It needed something special and felt like a lost opportunity.
The setting had great potential – I really liked that through most of the book we were wondering if this was a realistic world or a magical one. The villains of the story were pretty one dimensional, the women are put in tough positions but rise up and show their tormentors that they have more power and ability than expected.
The secret to the central mystery was telegraphed early when one of the main characters dies “off screen” – always a red flag for any readers of mystery. I wish that the resolution could have been handled differently.
Next I am reading Art Work: On the Creative Life by Sally Mann.
