Recent Reads - Secrets of the Maison Fournier

Secrets of the Maison Fournier by Amelia Pine - American Emma Greene is the owner of a small English-language bookshop in Paris, and her shop is in the shadow of the illustrious new Maison Fournier department store. She has heard rumors about the owner of the store, and is rather surprised to receive an invitation to the grand reception celebration Maison Fournier's opening. Along with her new friend Cècile, owner of a neighboring French bookshop, Emma attends the opening. While drinking celebratory toast to the success of his business, Henri Fournier dies, a victim of poisoning. Emma finds herself the most convenient suspect since she is a foreigner, but the detective Inspector Lefèvre also recognizes that Emma is a keen observer of details and a valuable witness. To Emma's great relief Inspector Lefèvre does not believe Emma is the murderer, but the rest of Paris is not so kind and business at her bookshop suffers.

At Cècile's urging, Emma hires an assistant, and soon Luc joins Emma and Cècile in their own investigation of the murder. After all, no one is more motivated to find the real killer than the one wrongfully suspected. Inspector Lefèvre repeatedly warns Emma to stay out of it and to not embark on her own investigation but also seems to understand that his warnings will not be heeded. Luc and Cècile constantly tease Emma that the Inspector's interest is very personal, and Emma admits - at least to herself - that she is drawn to the Inspector and hopes to know him better.

In the meantime, the investigation takes Emma and her friends to the offices of Maison Fournier, the studios of Fournier's associates, and to the opera, collecting valuable information and clues. Can they piece it all together before the murderer silences Emma or the suspicions swirling around her destroy her reputation beyond repair? 

I enjoyed these charming and quirky characters, the period details of the mystery and Paris setting, and the simmering attraction growing between Emma and Inspector Lefèvre. Although there's a murder and a bit of darkness, it still has the feel of a cozy mystery. Emma's background, and the circumstances that brought her to Paris, are revealed a little at a time, and Lefèvre's even more slowly, and I really liked him. Cècile is a character that is over-the-top and requires a bit more suspension of disbelief to accept. The writing is done well, though I felt that there were too many personification descriptions, especially in the first half or so. They were lovely and creative descriptors for the most part, but lost their charm when there were several per page for successive pages. This was noticeable to me, but didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. And I will be looking for the next installment, eager to find out what is next for Emma, the brooding Inspector, and Emma's interesting friends. 

From the publisher:

Paris, 1888. A city of light, love, and deadly secrets.

When American bookseller Emma Greene opens a small English-language bookshop in the Latin Quarter, she hopes for a quiet life among books, not whispers and suspicion.

After the powerful owner of the glittering Maison Fournier department store dies under suspicious circumstances, Emma becomes a reluctant suspect. To save her reputation, she must untanble Parisian society secrets with the help of a guarded detective, a circle of found-family neighbors, and a slow-burn romantic tension that could be just as dangerous as the truth.

A Belle Époque historical cozy mystery with bookshop intrigue, a clever heroine, and romance under gaslight.

Perfect for fans of Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Rhys Bowen, Deanna Raybourn, and Tasha Alexander.

I received a digital copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a book featuring the literary device personification (#44), and has a diacritical mark on the cover (#47) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

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Connect Five Friday - Victorian Era Mysteries

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The Friday Five Link Up is a List Link Up hosted by The Book Date. It can be five connections of any kind. Books can have been read last year or any year. Books can be used more than once. They may not have been read yet. . . It can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Maybe it's not a list of actual books, but things connected to books - e.g. favourite book shops, recipes etc. It might even be five movies related to books or five poems or five poets or five bookish moments, five thoughts about reading - be creative! The link-up will be open each Friday and will close on Thursday. Use the hashtag #connect5books

In Canada, this is the beginning of the long weekend of Victoria Day. The Canadian holiday was first celebrated in 1845, on Queen Victoria's birthday. The holiday is on the third Monday of May and now marks the official birthday celebration of the current Queen of England. For most Canadians, it's just a day off and the unofficial beginning of the summer season. As I saw this holiday on my upcoming calendar, I thought it would make a good connection for novels. Here are five set in Victorian England, and it turns out they are all mysteries too. Hmmm.

*****

A Curious Beginning (A Veronica Speedwell Mystery) by Deanna Raybourn - This series from Raybourn, as well as the Lady Julia series, is set in Victorian England, but I chose to feature this one because (possible spoiler alert!) the mysterious parentage of Veronica Speedwell is connected to the royal family.  A mysterious German baron rescues Veronica from an abduction attempt. Convinced she is in danger, the baron brings Veronica to London, and reveals that he knows the identity of her parents. He delivers her for safekeeping to his friend Stoker, a reclusive scientist and explorer with his own dark secrets. However, before Veronica can speak with the baron again, he is murdered in his home. Veronica's only known link to her past is gone, and she and Stoker realize they are considered the prime suspects for the murder.  They team up to solve the murder and track down the clues to Veronica's parentage.

A Study In Scarlet Women (The Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas - This novel takes a very different angle on the Victorian era detective stories by proposing that Sherlock was an assumed identity for a very clever young woman named Charlotte Holmes. A scandal surrounding Charlotte escalates when the sudden death of a society matron stirs up suspicion of Charlotte and her family. With her sharp mind, Charlotte sees a connection between that death and two others, and writing letters as Sherlock Holmes, tries to urge the authorities to investigate further. Charlotte's funds are running dangerously low when she strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, and soon the two of them think of a way to use the mysterious Sherlock Holmes identity to solve the case and to take clients in need of an investigator.

The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry - Another mystery series set in Victorian London, the William Monk series features an enigmatic police detective who has lost much of his memory following an accident. He returns to work and is assigned the case of the murder of a Crimean war hero, all while trying to hide his memory loss from his superior. Perry also writes the Charlotte & Thomas Pitt series, which is also set in Victorian London and makes use of London neighborhoods and street names in the novel titles.

And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander - Young society widow Lady Emily Ashton develops an interest in her late husband's dealings in antiquities, which stirs up questions about how he might have been connected to a black market in antiquities and engaged in fraudulent activities. Emily sets out to unravel the mysteries and decide which, if any, of her late husband's friends she can trust. This is the first of the Lady Emily series, in which she and her new love Colin are thrust into intrigues and mysteries as they navigate their new relationship in class-conscience Victorian society.

Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent - Violet Morgan has been assisting her husband Graham in his undertaking business, and has a real affinity for her work. In fact, she is actually better suited to it than Graham is. Their relationship is deteriorating, and Violet is beginning to uncover a blockade running scheme he and his brother are involved in. Violet notices something strange about some of the bodies she deals with, and suspects a murderer is at large. She must track down the killer and rescue the orphan that she's taken in. In what seems at first to be an unrelated storyline, the Queen requests Violet's involvement in planning the funeral for Prince Albert. 

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Book Blogger Hop - July 1, 2016

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This week's Book Blogger Hop question from Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer asked me to pick favorites again.

Name an author or authors that you have read most of his or her books and would recommend to others. 

Guess what!? Another list!! When I find an author that I really enjoy, and have read (or am reading) pretty much everything they write, they generally get their own tag on this blog. Let me highlight a couple of favorites, some of whom will look familiar if you saw my "favorite couples" post from last week.

Jane Austen - She belongs at the top of the list, of course! I love her novels, and some of the fiction that has been inspired by her characters. Sadly, there seem to be more poorly written junk pieces of fan fiction than well-crafted stories based on the beloved characters, but I suppose that's to be expected when there are wanna-be authors hoping to capitalize on a sure thing. If you follow my Jane Austen tag, you'll find my thoughts on her books as well as some of the fan fiction I've read, including some of the unfortunates that also bear the tag "hours I will never get back". LOL




Deanna Raybourn is the author of the Lady Julia Grey series that I mentioned last week, as well as several other books. Deanna Raybourn became one of my favourite authors and I have loved every one of her books. And yes, I have read them all, and recommend them highly.

  
   

Anna Lee Huber writes the Lady Darby Mystery series featuring Kiera, an eccentric, widowed artist; and investigator Sebastian Gage. I've read the first four novels and am now awaiting the release of the next book in this series. She is my most recently discovered favorite author.

  
   

Stephen Lawhead - I haven't read everything he's written, as there is one fantasy series of his that I somehow haven't started yet. But my guess is that I would love that too. I especially love the Pendragon Cycle, the King Raven Trilogy, and most recently, the Bright Empires series. (See all the Stephen Lawhead books I've reviewed here. I've read almost all, but haven't written about them on my blog.)










Anne Perry - Although I've only mentioned a few of her Christmas novellas here on the blog, I have been faithfully reading her William Monk series, and Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. I've got a bit of catching up to do though! She writes some amazing detective thrillers set in Victorian London, but they are quite dark. If murder mystery in that historic setting appeals to you, I cannot recommend her enough.

Tasha Alexander is another more recent addition to my favorite authors list. She writes the Lady Emily Mysteries I mentioned last week. Another Victorian couple doing murder investigation.

  
  
  
 


Who are your favorite authors?

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