THE BONES OF PARIS (Harris Stuyvesant #2)
Laurie R. King
Random House
September 10, 2013
The Bones of Paris (Harris Stuyvesant #2) is set in Jazz Age Paris in 1929. After World War I Paris was flooded with American expats escaping US Prohibition and diving into the Art Scene and fleshpots of Monmartre and Montparnasse. One of the most popular songs of the day included the line, "how you gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree?" Paris was cheap and wide open to young men and women who wanted nothing more than to live it up with no restrictions after the devastation of the "War to end all Wars". Such expats included Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Man Ray, Lee Miller, and Ada "Bricktop" Smith. After a decade of partying though, the shine is wearing off and the party is getting meaner.
Harris Stuyvesant, American PI and ex-FBI agent is down on his luck in Berlin when a letter catches up to him asking him to find Philippa "Pip" Crosby, a 22 year old girl who has gone missing in Paris. After a year of living in Paris and writing home faithfully, nothing has been heard from her since March and it's now the end of August. The writer of the letter, Pip's uncle, believes that Harris may have met her at some point in Paris. Met her indeed- the two had a five day "fling". Harris desperately needs the money offered and knowing Pip as he does, thinks she has just run off with friends, forgetting to write. When he gets to Paris she has literally disappeared without a trace. No one can remember seeing her for months and nothing is missing from her apartment, other than her passport. Her roommate, Nancy, has been away herself and knows nothing. But Nancy and Harris begin to fear the worst as they learn of a string of missing persons in Paris and the surrounding area. Paris has gotten mean in truth and the evil centers on the Theatre Grand-Guignol, where simulated death and dismemberment is entertainment.
I am a big fan of Laurie King's Russell and Holmes books and the Kate Martinelli books. No one can evoke far off times and places quite as well as Ms. King. She does this through exhaustive research and evocative prose. I had read almost all her books, but not "Touchstone", which introduced Bennett Gray and Sarah Gray, Harris's lost love. It was not a problem, but I plan to remedy that very soon. For one thing, I'd like to see Harris in a less "tattered " condition than in The Bones of Paris. Drinking and brawling too much, his disillusionment makes him the perfect "noir" detective, but not a healthy one. I highly recommend The Bones of Paris for fans of historical fiction, colorful characters and meticulous plotting.
Thanks to Random House and netgalley.com for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
RATING- 5 STARS
Laurie R. King
Random House
September 10, 2013
The Bones of Paris (Harris Stuyvesant #2) is set in Jazz Age Paris in 1929. After World War I Paris was flooded with American expats escaping US Prohibition and diving into the Art Scene and fleshpots of Monmartre and Montparnasse. One of the most popular songs of the day included the line, "how you gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree?" Paris was cheap and wide open to young men and women who wanted nothing more than to live it up with no restrictions after the devastation of the "War to end all Wars". Such expats included Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, Man Ray, Lee Miller, and Ada "Bricktop" Smith. After a decade of partying though, the shine is wearing off and the party is getting meaner.
Harris Stuyvesant, American PI and ex-FBI agent is down on his luck in Berlin when a letter catches up to him asking him to find Philippa "Pip" Crosby, a 22 year old girl who has gone missing in Paris. After a year of living in Paris and writing home faithfully, nothing has been heard from her since March and it's now the end of August. The writer of the letter, Pip's uncle, believes that Harris may have met her at some point in Paris. Met her indeed- the two had a five day "fling". Harris desperately needs the money offered and knowing Pip as he does, thinks she has just run off with friends, forgetting to write. When he gets to Paris she has literally disappeared without a trace. No one can remember seeing her for months and nothing is missing from her apartment, other than her passport. Her roommate, Nancy, has been away herself and knows nothing. But Nancy and Harris begin to fear the worst as they learn of a string of missing persons in Paris and the surrounding area. Paris has gotten mean in truth and the evil centers on the Theatre Grand-Guignol, where simulated death and dismemberment is entertainment.
I am a big fan of Laurie King's Russell and Holmes books and the Kate Martinelli books. No one can evoke far off times and places quite as well as Ms. King. She does this through exhaustive research and evocative prose. I had read almost all her books, but not "Touchstone", which introduced Bennett Gray and Sarah Gray, Harris's lost love. It was not a problem, but I plan to remedy that very soon. For one thing, I'd like to see Harris in a less "tattered " condition than in The Bones of Paris. Drinking and brawling too much, his disillusionment makes him the perfect "noir" detective, but not a healthy one. I highly recommend The Bones of Paris for fans of historical fiction, colorful characters and meticulous plotting.
Thanks to Random House and netgalley.com for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.
RATING- 5 STARS
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