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Vanished Child #2
The Knowledge of Water
An enigmatic man haunted by guilt and a dark secret from the past ... A beautiful young woman consumed by a desire that could destroy her lifelong dream ... A madman who stalks them both in retribution for a murder they know nothing about ... They all play a part in Sarah Smith’s captivating, critically acclaimed novel of suspense ...
“Lushly erotic ... The centrepiece of Sarah Smith’s elegant period novel is the torrential flood that nearly swept Paris away in 1910.... An exquisite stylist, she observes her characters in the most intimate detail, defining them with witty precision and placing them in a rain-drenched portrait of Edwardian Paris that could hang in the Louvre.” — The New York Times Book Review
“A haunting tale ... An accessible mix of historical speculation, literary allusion, and suspense, [this novel] could become this year’s Name of the Rose.” — Entertainment Weekly
“As satisfying a mystery as the Mona Lisa’s smile.” — USA Today
“Lushly erotic ... The centrepiece of Sarah Smith’s elegant period novel is the torrential flood that nearly swept Paris away in 1910.... An exquisite stylist, she observes her characters in the most intimate detail, defining them with witty precision and placing them in a rain-drenched portrait of Edwardian Paris that could hang in the Louvre.” — The New York Times Book Review
“A haunting tale ... An accessible mix of historical speculation, literary allusion, and suspense, [this novel] could become this year’s Name of the Rose.” — Entertainment Weekly
“As satisfying a mystery as the Mona Lisa’s smile.” — USA Today
407 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
9 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Smith
16 books67 followersSarah Smith has been interested in ghosts and storytelling since she was four. Her sitter told her Japanese ghost stories at night, which she retold on the schoolbus the next morning. When she heard the story of the haunted house and the Perkins Bequest, she knew she had to write about it. No one knows what became of the real Perkins Bequest. She hopes The Other Side of Dark may help solve the mystery.
The Other Side of Dark is her debut novel for young adults.
Sarah studied English at Harvard (where she hid out in the library reading mysteries) and film in London. She is the bestselling author of an adult mystery series set in Edwardian Boston and Paris; two of the books have been New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and one was a London Times Book of the Year.
She has also written a novel about the Shakespeare authorship, Chasing Shakespeares, and actually discovered a "Shakespearean" poem by another candidate. She is currently writing a novel about the Titanic.
Visit her online at www.sarahsmith.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sarahwriter. Read her short stories for free at BookViewCafe.
"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 25, 2024
The year is 1910 and Paris is drenched in rain. While waters of the usually benevolent Seine keep steadily rising, a promising young pianist decides against her better judgment to pursue a relationship with an enigmatic but fascinating baron von Reisden. At the same time in a little house i Paris’ suburbs, an elderly widow of a known painter lives quietly taking care of her handicapped older brother. The two plots intersect when Reisden in search for a suitable space to practice for his pianist friend, rents a house from the widow, and while his cousin seeks to authenticate one of her paintings.
Some reviews of this novel focus on the relationship between Perdita and her Baron. Some are drawn to the mystery plot and the murder that is committed between the pages of this novel but otherwise has surprisingly little to do with it all. But there is another plot that came to interest me far more than the others. Disguised in it all, there is a story of a painting (or paintings), and the artist and his wife. It is about creative passion and if an urge to create can be suppressed, and how much can be sacrificed for the sake of the art. Quite fascinating questions in an unassuming package.
Some reviews of this novel focus on the relationship between Perdita and her Baron. Some are drawn to the mystery plot and the murder that is committed between the pages of this novel but otherwise has surprisingly little to do with it all. But there is another plot that came to interest me far more than the others. Disguised in it all, there is a story of a painting (or paintings), and the artist and his wife. It is about creative passion and if an urge to create can be suppressed, and how much can be sacrificed for the sake of the art. Quite fascinating questions in an unassuming package.
June 6, 2022
This is the second of four novels about these characters. Some have complained that there are too many interlocking plot threads, and I was inclined to agree until I got further into the book and realized how all the plots reinforce the overarching theme of artistic creation and the way it dominates the lives of those who are born with this passion, pushing them into conflict with societal conventions and frequently, into conflict with other sides of themselves.
I’ve now finished the first of the series, The Vanished Child, and that book lays valuable groundwork for this continuation. I fell completely in love with Perdita, the musician, and almost as much so with Reisden/Richard/the baron, despite having some trouble remembering that those names added up to the same person (Vanished Child explains). To this performer, the descriptions of what it feels like to practice, perform, and be inhabited by music rang more than true. The struggle to reconcile one’s identity as woman with all of this is quite similar, even in 2022 - but we should all know how very much worse it was for women like Perdita in 1910 in France.
Chapeau to Sarah Smith for her marvelous writing, terse yet sprinkled with metaphors frequently breathstopping, often humorous, and always apt to the situation. To her also for meticulous preparation of the scenes in Paris, frequently on the left bank which I know quite well. It was fascinating to learn what these places were like in 1910.
The flood becomes a plot on its own. It gathers strength in the background and then suddenly becomes part of the landscape as it overwhelms the city, stopping movement, destroying lives and buildings and long-anticipated events. Its effects even in the outlying areas like Courbevoie (next to Ile de la Grande Jatte immortalized by Seurat and not far from today’s La Défense) were devastating.
You will recognize some famous writers and painters of that time, skillfully disguised as different characters and placed in relation to each other. These encounters may never have happened in real life but they are quite believable and often amusing here!
And finally, just one precious quote of several that I copied down:
““In the moment before playing there is always that silence. It is exalting, but it is frightening. You are only who you are, you have only yourself to bring to it…
Even if you can’t live up to your destiny, you can at least have one…
The silence began to resonate around her; she heard in it the little vibration of the strings of the piano, a reflection of sound, a cage, a voice; she chose it; the silence changed to music; and she put her hands down on the keyboard and began to play.”
I’ve now finished the first of the series, The Vanished Child, and that book lays valuable groundwork for this continuation. I fell completely in love with Perdita, the musician, and almost as much so with Reisden/Richard/the baron, despite having some trouble remembering that those names added up to the same person (Vanished Child explains). To this performer, the descriptions of what it feels like to practice, perform, and be inhabited by music rang more than true. The struggle to reconcile one’s identity as woman with all of this is quite similar, even in 2022 - but we should all know how very much worse it was for women like Perdita in 1910 in France.
Chapeau to Sarah Smith for her marvelous writing, terse yet sprinkled with metaphors frequently breathstopping, often humorous, and always apt to the situation. To her also for meticulous preparation of the scenes in Paris, frequently on the left bank which I know quite well. It was fascinating to learn what these places were like in 1910.
The flood becomes a plot on its own. It gathers strength in the background and then suddenly becomes part of the landscape as it overwhelms the city, stopping movement, destroying lives and buildings and long-anticipated events. Its effects even in the outlying areas like Courbevoie (next to Ile de la Grande Jatte immortalized by Seurat and not far from today’s La Défense) were devastating.
You will recognize some famous writers and painters of that time, skillfully disguised as different characters and placed in relation to each other. These encounters may never have happened in real life but they are quite believable and often amusing here!
And finally, just one precious quote of several that I copied down:
““In the moment before playing there is always that silence. It is exalting, but it is frightening. You are only who you are, you have only yourself to bring to it…
Even if you can’t live up to your destiny, you can at least have one…
The silence began to resonate around her; she heard in it the little vibration of the strings of the piano, a reflection of sound, a cage, a voice; she chose it; the silence changed to music; and she put her hands down on the keyboard and began to play.”
August 19, 2010
At the moment I'm finding this book slow and dry and a bit tedious. I'm nearly at page 200 and neither of the "thrilling" elements from the back cover have been more than hinted at. We will see. I will finish the book because I can't not...
So it's finished, and I'm still not thrilled with it. Despite my best efforts I could not make myself care about the characters. The plot lines were much too scattered to give me time to embrace any one side of the story, and the 240 pages of "character development" which took place before ANYTHING remotely thrilling or engaging took place seem excessive to me, considering their inefficiency.
Overall I thought that this book was rather clumsily written, the characters were tedious and self-absorbed, and I did not come away with any real shining moments. I think that if the author had chosen perhaps two of the plot lines and really focused on them she could have written a fabulous book.
So it's finished, and I'm still not thrilled with it. Despite my best efforts I could not make myself care about the characters. The plot lines were much too scattered to give me time to embrace any one side of the story, and the 240 pages of "character development" which took place before ANYTHING remotely thrilling or engaging took place seem excessive to me, considering their inefficiency.
Overall I thought that this book was rather clumsily written, the characters were tedious and self-absorbed, and I did not come away with any real shining moments. I think that if the author had chosen perhaps two of the plot lines and really focused on them she could have written a fabulous book.
October 5, 2013
A friend recommended this book a few years ago, and I loved it and devoured it in just a few days. I went back and read part one of the trilogy then the final third volume as well. Not sure why this author isn't better known; perhaps she's one of those "cup of tea" authors, as in "not my" or "very much my". I've suggested this book to a few people and they haven't liked it, alas. However I think Smith's depiction of the 1910 Paris flood is riveting.
December 5, 2007
I kept reading and reading and reading...and I never really got any "knowledge" of anything...
...except that Parisians at the turn of the Century actually had some form of condom.
Werid.
...except that Parisians at the turn of the Century actually had some form of condom.
Werid.
July 8, 2020
Still love these characters, plot was slightly less gripping than the first book. Loved the art forgery plot and the Paris art scene! The book made me feel EMOTIONS!
November 27, 2012
What can I say about this book? It seemed to me to start out so slow I let it sit for months, and then I finish it today at a dead heat after being brought to tears three or more times. It has a hundred supporting characters and they are all as vivid as Suzanne Mallais or Georges Vittal. It starts out slow like the flood of a river carrying a million objets d'art along in its waters, then it reaches the vertex quicker than you thought, and takes its time to subside. The great Paris flood of 1910 felt as real as Barbara Hambly's mysteries make New Orleans feel and every time I went outside Albany NY buildings in 2012 last night the first thought that hit me was always, 'why is the air dry?' This is really a sprawling novel, with uncounted subplots and endless discussion and argument over the relationship between women and love and art. The climactic resolution is a bunch of people standing in a bare room trying to convince two old people to say some things. Everyone has their happy ending, whether it's being saved from death, getting married, or getting a dog. Men in diving suits swim into the Prefecture to save the bureaucratic records and the Jouvet archives may be salvageable after all. It ends with Perdita, Reisden, Daugherty, Milly, and Dotty all realising there is something they don't know about life and coming to some resolution about the uncertain future. (Well, it's book two of a trilogy, right?) And then comes the really plot-turning revelation at the back of the book, which is strictly speaking after the novel has ended. Sarah Smith is elevated to a select group of authors who include Avram Davidson. (And that's a big compliment from me!)
Good book.
Good book.
August 11, 2011
"Lushly erotic...The centerpiece of Sarah Smith's elegant period novel is the torrential flood that nearly sweapt Paris away in 1910....An exquisite stylist, she observes her characters in the most intimate detail, defining them with witty precision and placing them in a rain-drenched portrait of Edwardian Paris that could hang in the Louvre."
--The New York Times Book Review
While at times this book was "lushly erotic" in writing, overall it was a major disappointment. If it was meant to be suspenseful (with the mysterious threat to the lovers), it failed. If it was meant to be mysterious, it failed. The best I can say for it is that it captured the time of the flood fairly well. But then...many a historical novelist could have done better. And NO (in reply to one of the critics on the back of the book) this could NOT be the next Name of the Rose. Not even close.
This is one library book store find that will find itself re-donated. That doesn't happen often with me & books...
--The New York Times Book Review
While at times this book was "lushly erotic" in writing, overall it was a major disappointment. If it was meant to be suspenseful (with the mysterious threat to the lovers), it failed. If it was meant to be mysterious, it failed. The best I can say for it is that it captured the time of the flood fairly well. But then...many a historical novelist could have done better. And NO (in reply to one of the critics on the back of the book) this could NOT be the next Name of the Rose. Not even close.
This is one library book store find that will find itself re-donated. That doesn't happen often with me & books...
September 8, 2011
I began reading this historical suspense novel, not realizing it was the middle book of a trilogy, but couldn't put it down anyway even if I had wanted to track down the first part at that point. It is of that genre that is a little hard to categorize, somewhat described as a literary mystery, historical speculation full of dangerous characters and attractive characters with dangerous doubts and personal mysteries.
It is set in Paris and is dark and troubling and it tells the further tale of the attractive, brilliant Alexander von Reisden, who also holds a dual identity. His past follows him like a shadow and his future looks pretty shadowy too. His complicated family plays a huge role in the story, and he shares the spotlight with a few French painters and the talented young Perdita Halley, who is challenging the gender roles in the classical music world of 1910.
I enjoyed this well-written read. I'll be looking for parts 1 and 3 now.
It is set in Paris and is dark and troubling and it tells the further tale of the attractive, brilliant Alexander von Reisden, who also holds a dual identity. His past follows him like a shadow and his future looks pretty shadowy too. His complicated family plays a huge role in the story, and he shares the spotlight with a few French painters and the talented young Perdita Halley, who is challenging the gender roles in the classical music world of 1910.
I enjoyed this well-written read. I'll be looking for parts 1 and 3 now.
March 21, 2021
Not as good as the first. Okay too many subplots. The forgery issue could have been removed. The description says the 2 main characters are stalked (not really, she barely knows anything about it. But Alex does. This goes nowhere till under 100 pages left.) smh Like okay most of the book is more or less I don't love her. I love him at some point he makes an error she doesn't know about the mistake till she gets sick and her chest is tender (ahem) then the last 100 pages everything is smashed together. Fast book but the first book was a serious thriller. Hope #3 is better. I'm not saying this is a horrid book. It must be read but the irony here is the cover drew me to the series. I bought this book first figured out is was #2 bought #1 the week after this. Never judge a book by it's cover true but it should attract you to the book and set the tone. Take awhile to get to book 3 and then the MOD version I have from 2019 of the 4th..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2018
Maybe this would've been better if I'd read the first book in the series?
Because I mostly just found it weird. The murder mystery/stalker thriller plot was just super confusing and bizarre and felt completely disconnected from the rest of the story. The Perdita storyline, while not exactly subtle, was at least more intelligible and interesting. The writing was adequate. It wasn't a bad book, just so middling that I couldn't really recommend it.
Because I mostly just found it weird. The murder mystery/stalker thriller plot was just super confusing and bizarre and felt completely disconnected from the rest of the story. The Perdita storyline, while not exactly subtle, was at least more intelligible and interesting. The writing was adequate. It wasn't a bad book, just so middling that I couldn't really recommend it.
May 30, 2021
I was so fascinated with this book that I had to go out immediately and get the first book of the trilogy (The Vanished Child), and now I can't wait for the third. This volume is about forgery – what is real and what isn't – and how, like water, reality can change quickly and emotions can flood one. Reisden and Perdita were so captivating that I needed to know more of their background, which is described in the first volume.
July 25, 2018
I feel that the author didn't really have a focus on what she wanted to say with the novel. Is it a murder mystery? Is it about forgery of paintings? Is it a love story? She ran these themes concurrently but none were satisfying. Smith writes well, but could have focused her plot lines to come to a resounding conclusion.
Read
May 19, 2025I read 21 chapters in this novel, and felt bored. Boredom. That word kept ringing through my head. My eyes would glaze away, my mind would wander. So I looked into this book. While presented a murder mystery, it's more of a series of painting about an artist and his wife. But the paintings bored me and so I must look away.
January 22, 2023
Roman décevant, intrigue emberlificotée, des personnages bien incarnés pourtant qui deviennent pénibles à suivre….arrivée à moitié de ce gros roman j’ai été contrainte de le lâcher malgré un style fluide et agréable
Want to read
April 28, 2024Putting this one on "pause" for now. It's the 2nd in a series and the first book looks interesting.
December 2, 2012
It's been a long while since I've felt this conflicted about a book. Let's just say that about halfway thru it I was so irritated that I nearly quit right then, but the last 50-or-so pages grabbed me so hard that I was completely riveted.
First off - this is the middle volume of an apparent trilogy (which is NOT noted anywhere on the cover/title page), beginning with The Vanished Child and culminating with A Citizen of the Country. That said, I was able to enjoy The Knowledge of Water completely without having read the first (or, unless I happen to run across a copy, planning to read the third.)
The Knowledge of Water is set in 1910 Paris, amid the expressive explosion of the day that challenged commonly-held ideas about what constitutes "art", while conventional restrictions on behavior still dominated the lives of most average citizens.
The main characters are Perdita Halley, a young, virtually blind American woman studying piano and dreaming of a career as a concert performer, and Alexander von Reisden, owner of a psychiatric hospital, who has a mysterious background. Having met in Boston (events covered in the The Vanished Child), Perdita has made the shocking choice to travel unchaperoned with Alexander to the continent, in order to study at the famed Conservatoire de Paris. Perdita loves Alexander, but has seen demonstrated all too clearly that the demands of marriage and family are impossible, in the standards of that age, to reconcile with the life of a touring performer, or even the continued development of one's skills. Alexander's needs are likewise in conflict - although he loves Perdita and would never want to deny her the music she pursues so passionately, he wants a conventional home life, with a wife and children waiting for him when he comes home at night.
Into this apparently superficial romance are drawn characters who embody the changing times: the Vicomtesse de Gresniere, known as "Dotty" to her cousin Alexander, who sees Perdita as a completely unsuitable match; Millie Xico, Perdita's bohemian writer and journalist friend, who has been robbed of the publishing rights to her own work by her estranged husband; Madame Mallais, one-time laundress and widow of a famed Impressionist painter, and her grandson Jean-Jacques, who spends his days at the Louvre making copies of the Mona Lisa to sell to tourists; Daugherty, who has been sent to Paris by Perdita's guardian to look into the nature of her relationship with Reisden; and various art dealers, artists, poets, and other less-than-reputable members of Parisian society.
Throughout there is the mystery of who killed the homeless woman known only as the Mona Lisa, and why her murderer insists that Alexander help him give her a proper burial; questions of the legitimacy of several pieces of art, including one owned by Dotty and scheduled to be displayed in public for the first time at the Winter Salon; and on-going musings on the rights of women to be recognized as equals with men in their artistic endeavors. Add to that the endless rains that gradually saturate the ground and fill Paris's notorious sewers, culminating in a record-breaking flood that reduces all classes to refugees. It's a fascinating history lesson, although sometimes the extended navel-gazing made it a bit hard to swallow.
First off - this is the middle volume of an apparent trilogy (which is NOT noted anywhere on the cover/title page), beginning with The Vanished Child and culminating with A Citizen of the Country. That said, I was able to enjoy The Knowledge of Water completely without having read the first (or, unless I happen to run across a copy, planning to read the third.)
The Knowledge of Water is set in 1910 Paris, amid the expressive explosion of the day that challenged commonly-held ideas about what constitutes "art", while conventional restrictions on behavior still dominated the lives of most average citizens.
The main characters are Perdita Halley, a young, virtually blind American woman studying piano and dreaming of a career as a concert performer, and Alexander von Reisden, owner of a psychiatric hospital, who has a mysterious background. Having met in Boston (events covered in the The Vanished Child), Perdita has made the shocking choice to travel unchaperoned with Alexander to the continent, in order to study at the famed Conservatoire de Paris. Perdita loves Alexander, but has seen demonstrated all too clearly that the demands of marriage and family are impossible, in the standards of that age, to reconcile with the life of a touring performer, or even the continued development of one's skills. Alexander's needs are likewise in conflict - although he loves Perdita and would never want to deny her the music she pursues so passionately, he wants a conventional home life, with a wife and children waiting for him when he comes home at night.
Into this apparently superficial romance are drawn characters who embody the changing times: the Vicomtesse de Gresniere, known as "Dotty" to her cousin Alexander, who sees Perdita as a completely unsuitable match; Millie Xico, Perdita's bohemian writer and journalist friend, who has been robbed of the publishing rights to her own work by her estranged husband; Madame Mallais, one-time laundress and widow of a famed Impressionist painter, and her grandson Jean-Jacques, who spends his days at the Louvre making copies of the Mona Lisa to sell to tourists; Daugherty, who has been sent to Paris by Perdita's guardian to look into the nature of her relationship with Reisden; and various art dealers, artists, poets, and other less-than-reputable members of Parisian society.
Throughout there is the mystery of who killed the homeless woman known only as the Mona Lisa, and why her murderer insists that Alexander help him give her a proper burial; questions of the legitimacy of several pieces of art, including one owned by Dotty and scheduled to be displayed in public for the first time at the Winter Salon; and on-going musings on the rights of women to be recognized as equals with men in their artistic endeavors. Add to that the endless rains that gradually saturate the ground and fill Paris's notorious sewers, culminating in a record-breaking flood that reduces all classes to refugees. It's a fascinating history lesson, although sometimes the extended navel-gazing made it a bit hard to swallow.
February 12, 2011
This is the second in the 'Vanished Child Trilogy' by this author. I love this book for so many reasons. The recreation of Paris ca 1910 and its characters is incredible. While some of the characters are based on real people (Monet, Colette) and the story borrows from real events (the theft of the Mona Lisa) it is none the less stunning for that.
The story concerns Perdita, a young blind pianist who comes to Paris to study and finds that her determination to become a concert pianist faces many obstacles. She is accompanied by the man she loves (but who is not sure if he loves her). He is struggling with his own demons having discovered the truth about his family origins. The novel tells of their love affair against the backdrop of a murder, a coquettish French writer/actress and her feud with her ex husband, a possible case of forged art, and the Paris flood of 1910. The description of the flood is one of the best things I have read.
The story concerns Perdita, a young blind pianist who comes to Paris to study and finds that her determination to become a concert pianist faces many obstacles. She is accompanied by the man she loves (but who is not sure if he loves her). He is struggling with his own demons having discovered the truth about his family origins. The novel tells of their love affair against the backdrop of a murder, a coquettish French writer/actress and her feud with her ex husband, a possible case of forged art, and the Paris flood of 1910. The description of the flood is one of the best things I have read.
January 5, 2011
I was looking forward to this based upon recommendations, but ended up pretty disappointed. It is not bad, and the bits about the great Paris Flood are really interesting. However, the story is scattered, the romance is completely disjointed, and the navel-gazing over being a wife/mother versus having a vocation (or even a serious avocation) seems at once strident and anachronistic. For a more satisfying exploration of that theme in the late 19th century, read The Awakening.
February 3, 2010
Second of a trilogy; set in Paris in 1910 with incessant rain leading to huge floods (true); subplots involving the theft of the Mona Lisa (based on a true case) and art fraud by Millais and his wife (not true)all around the affair between the blind pianist, Perdita, and Baron Dr Alexander von Reisdan with much lecturing about feminism and combining career and marriage. And, yes I do plan to read the third in the trilogy as soon as it comes from the library.
January 11, 2012
Disappointing. It should have engaged me much more, but the characters were none of them particularly likeable, there were too many plot threads, and it was all too muddled and elliptical, including the anguished deliberations of all the characters. There were good, interesting ideas that needed more shape and better writing. I was interested enough to carry on reading to the end, but it was a hard slog.
July 21, 2024
Started off slow but picked up. It was going pretty good, but the culmination (and solving the mystery of who was the painter) fell flat. The ending kind of dragged. Did find the history of the great flood in Paris in 1910 really interesting. I didn't know that happened. It wasn't enough to save the book for me though--it felt more like the author did a lot of research and wanted to fit it in somehow.
March 8, 2008
I wanted to like this book. It seemed to have a lot of elements that would appeal to me...Parisian setting, historical intrigue, etc. But when push came to shove, I was simply not a fan of Smith's writing style. The best explanation I can give is that I found the tone pretentious as a result of its self-aware literary and artistic references.
October 14, 2009
Awesome. Set in Paris in 1910 - deals with sex - art and women artists - forgery of art - forgery in relationships - forgery of the self - floods of many kinds - marriage and women's work -
A sequel to The Vanished Child, supposedly the second in a trilogy. I need to get ahold of the next book!
A sequel to The Vanished Child, supposedly the second in a trilogy. I need to get ahold of the next book!
October 20, 2008
KNOWLEDGE OF WATER - NR
Smith, Sarah - 2nd in Reisden series
During the devastating floods of 1910, Perdita Halley, a young woman studying music in Paris, finds herself falling passionately in love with Baron Alexander von Reisden, and together they flee a madman with dual personalities and confront the theft of the Mona Lisa.
the mystery group liked this but I just couldn't get into it.
Smith, Sarah - 2nd in Reisden series
During the devastating floods of 1910, Perdita Halley, a young woman studying music in Paris, finds herself falling passionately in love with Baron Alexander von Reisden, and together they flee a madman with dual personalities and confront the theft of the Mona Lisa.
the mystery group liked this but I just couldn't get into it.
January 28, 2010
This smart novel kept me interested until the final pages. I enjoyed learning about art forgery and women's rights in 1910 France. My only regret is that I came to this second book in the trilogy first. Now, I need to backtrack and read the first book. This could make a good movie, too, with the City of Love at high tide as a backdrop.
October 3, 2013
This book had potential but never quite lived up to it. At least three intriguing story lines that just petered out somewhere in the way-too-long middle. Paris, art, music, romance, murder, mystery - how can you go wrong? But somehow the author did.
Not recommended although I did like the first part of this trilogy. Not inclined to read the last one though.
Not recommended although I did like the first part of this trilogy. Not inclined to read the last one though.
October 13, 2016
I did not like it has much as the first book in the series, the Vanished Child. The book is at tines very confusing and references things in the Vanished Child It was not a straight mystery but had a lot of philosophy which I felt took from the story.
The best part of the book is that it gave a good picture of Paris in the Nineteenth century.
The best part of the book is that it gave a good picture of Paris in the Nineteenth century.
January 2, 2010
Very ambitious mystery about pianist Perdita Halley and painter Suzanne Mallais and the intersection of their lives. Tries to be a little too much--murder mystery, feminist tract, and history of art. Worthwhile read, nonetheless.
June 26, 2013
A suspense/mystery with depth and feeling! Very entertaining, plus a good bit more.
While reading, I was fully immersed and in suspension of disbelief, although afterwards my analytical brain started to question the liklihood of some characters' behavior :-)
While reading, I was fully immersed and in suspension of disbelief, although afterwards my analytical brain started to question the liklihood of some characters' behavior :-)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews