City of Darkness and Light

Molly Murphy #13

by Rhys Bowen

Molly and Daniel Sullivan are settling happily into the new routines of parenthood, but their domestic bliss is shattered the night a gang retaliates against Daniel for making a big arrest. Daniel wants his family safely out of New York City as soon as possible. In shock and grieving, but knowing she needs to protect their infant son Liam, Molly agrees to take him on the long journey to Paris to stay with her friends Sid and Gus, who are studying art in the City of Light.
But upon arriving in Paris, nothing goes as planned. Sid and Gus seem to have vanished into thin air, and Molly's search to figure out what happened to them will lead her through all levels of Parisian society, from extravagant salons to the dingy cafes where starving artists linger over coffee and loud philosophical debates. And when in the course of her search she stumbles across a dead body, Molly, on her own in a foreign country, starts to wonder if she and Liam might be in even more danger in Paris than they had been at home.
As Impressionism gives way to Fauvism and Cubism, and the Dreyfus affair rocks France, Molly races through Paris to outsmart a killer in "City of Darkness and Light".

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

I'm a New York Times bestselling mystery author, winner of both Agatha and Anthony awards for my Molly Murphy mysteries, set in 1902 New York City.

I have recently published four internationally bestselling WWII novels, one of them a #1 Kindle bestseller, and the Tuscan Child selling almost a million copies to date. In Farleigh Field won three major awards and was nominated for an Edgar. My other stand-alone novels are The Victory Garden, about land girls in WWI and Above the Bay of Angels, featuring a young woman who becomes chef for Queen Victoria.
April 2021 will mark the publication of THE VENICE SKETCHBOOK--another sweeping historical novel of love, loss and intrigue.

My books are currently translated into 29 languages and I have fans worldwide.

I also write the Agatha-winning Royal Spyness series, about the British royal family in the 1930s. It's lighter, sexier, funnier, wicked satire. It was voted by readers as best mystery series one year.
I am also known for my Constable Evans books, set in North Wales, and for my award-winning short stories.

I was born and raised in England but currently divide my time between California and Arizona where I go to escape from the harsh California winters
When I am not writing I love to travel, sing, hike, play my Celtic harp.
Series:
* Constable Evan Mystery
* Molly Murphy Mysteries
* Her Royal Spyness Mysteries

Awards:
Agatha Award
◊ Best Novel (2001): Murphy's Law
Reviewer's Choice Award
◊ Historical Mystery (2001): Murphy's Law

Reviews

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read some of the less glowing reviews here and then decided to read the book. I feared that I would be influenced but this mystery impressed me enough. For more knowledgeable people this book had warts and all, but I can only relay what I felt. Had I not had my spoilers I would have had more praise for this Parisian whodunit.

During the first fifth of the story I couldn't gloss over the boorishness of Molly's husband. Married life is fraught with desensitization, compromise, or rebellion. Molly has a finger in each of those pies. Daniel Sullivan was a charming man who courted his belle with conviction. His misogyny showed a bit even then. But only here have we readers been subject to his loutish laugh. In the light of the bombing(awful pun, I know) the opinion I have of him does not change. Sadly this portrait of married life is the most realistic aspect of this book.

I was looking forward to the voyage across the Atlantic. However, the author could not capture the spirit of the journey. She could not relay the quaint nature of ships of the time. Unlike other books, Molly regularly finds the stepping stones that are nice people during her entire adventure in this novel. Mrs Pinkerton was one of them. Madeleine, herself in France, would be another. I have read a couple of reviews about Molly's trivial view of her duties as a mother. What can I say? I agree, but I would never have picked on that by myself.

The description of Paris is where the writer has a modicum of gusto and enthusiasm. The shameless and ridiculous use of past visual artists like Pablo (heavy Spanish accent, paints raggedly, paints in blue) Picasso is distracting and removes us from what makes the story real. I thought, and I may be wrong, that so many future celebrities make the coincidence seem surreal. Not only that, but the city of Paris itself looks to be very little. Like a two-bit burg. The presence of recurring character Justin Hartley adds to this feeling. The latter was unnecessary to the plot and brought nothing to the table.

I liked both Sid and Gus. I now can differentiate between the two. The locals of France had their speech presented in English. That's a welcome decision for non speaking English readers. The locals did not have their own voice. They didn't have distinctive traits. That complaint was buried whenever the detective aspects of Molly Murphy was on the rise, though. I guessed the murderer's identity way sooner than to my liking. Like everything French, it was a crime of passion. Very cliche, but there you go.

[Heather Moll · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dear author:

Please spell Dreyfusard correctly. There should be a y every time, not just some of the time.
Please be consistent with character names i.e. in the same conversation the housekeeper should not refer to Reynold Bryce as M. Bryce, Mr. Bryce and Monsieur Bryce. Pick one and stick with it.
The Dreyfus affair began in 1894, and exploded in 1898 with the acquittal of Esterhazy and Zola's J'accuse, and continued with the 1899 retrial. In 1905 it was still divisive, but not exactly the front page news you make it out to be.
Shameless attempts to include real people like Picasso, degas, Cassatt, Stein felt forced
We spent 80 pages getting to France, another 50 trying to find Sid and Gus and by the time Molly had a crime to solve I almost didn't care anymore.

P.S Daniel still needs an attitude adjustment

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh...I wanted to like it because it's Paris but I should have stopped with this series after the last book. This one was marginally better since there wasn't much Daniel but everything just felt wrong about it. It took way too long to get to the actual mystery and Molly's "friendship" with the artists was just an excuse to throw some actual historical people in the book. The majority of the first half of the book was very unnecessary, especially the frequency of being told how and when Molly nursed her baby (and I'm a mom who is def pro-nursing)! Don't get me wrong, I think Rhys Bowen is a great author and I love her Royal Spyness books as well as the beginning of this series, but Molly just isn't a character who is good for the role of detective/wife/mother. I don't buy it and I'm done with her.

[Gigi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I picked this book up was: Mystery! Plucky girl Detective! Paris!

Alas, I am not going to add this author to my list of must-reads.

First of all, the whole mystery is her wandering around Paris looking for her friends, and asking other people if they knew where they were. Quite boring.

I also could NOT believe that she walked across the street, bought a bagette, and asked the baker's wife to BABYSIT HER 9 MONTH OLD SON, so she could wander the streets of Paris! I could not believe she put him in his crib, he fell asleep, and she WENT TO A BAR. AND I could NOT BELIEVE that she went into her friends' apartment, smelled the turpentine and the smells of a painter, and let her 9 month old son crawl around, without first doing a major MAKE IT SAFE FOR A BABY! I think the baby cried a few times when he was hungry, but she never had to deal with the normal tiredness a mom on her own with a 9 month old experiences. The kid never got into any trouble! Unbelievable throughout.

[~☆~Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fascinating murder mystery which Molly attempts to solve. She nearly loses her life by being careless. I guessed wrong as usual. This book has quite a bit about artists at that time in Paris. Molly gets around and meets quite a few of them. Numerous people care for her son as she searches for more and more clues. I adore this series and fear reading the last one.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be prepared to be wowed by lucky #13 in the Molly Murphy mystery series. It is the second of the series to take place primarily outside of New York City, in another country. The country this time is France, and the city is Paris in its heyday of cutting edge artists and intellectuals. The year is 1905, and major cities, such as New York and Paris, are bursting with history and change upon which the twentieth century will be built. Rhys Bowen once again seamlessly weaves the fiction of Molly's exploits with this metamorphic history, and the reader is presented with historical figures integrally enmeshed in the story line. Of course, one of the strengths of Bowen's writing is transporting readers to an earlier time and place through her well researched connections of people to plot. The Paris of 1905, at the zenith of seminal modernist artists, provides a bevy of real-life characters, such as Degas, Picasso, Monet, and Cassatt. And, the places of Montmartre and Montparnasse will become wonderfully familiar. Bowen even works the Dreyfus affair and Gertrude Stein into a story where the history of Jewish discrimination is evident.

As City of Darkness and Light begins, Molly has no thoughts of Paris and famous artists, other than the occasional letter from her friends Sid and Gus, who have traveled to that progressive city in order for Gus to explore her artistic endeavors. Molly is quite happy with her new family of her husband Daniel and son Liam. However, Daniel's police business intrudes into their lives in a most devastating manner, as retaliation from the newly formed Costa Nostra takes the form of a bomb that destroys Molly and Daniel's cozy home and very nearly costs them their lives. The solution to keeping Molly and Liam safe while Daniel searches for answers to the bombing is for Molly to take refuge with Sid and Gus in Paris. Molly and Liam sail for the safety of Paris, but, to Molly's dismay, her friends are not there to meet her and have seemingly disappeared. In Molly's attempt to locate her missing friends, she stumbles into a murder of a famous American artist who has resided in Paris for twenty years. Molly's journey to locate Sid and Gus will take her into the heart of the artist community and require her yet once more to unscrabble a mystery of complex scope. Molly also discovers that the Paris Surete is no fonder of interference than the New York Ciy police.

Followers of the Molly Murphy series will be well pleased with Molly's latest excursion into murder and mayhem. Although now a married woman and a mother, Molly hasn't lost any of her drive and determination to use her powers of detection in solving yet another confounding death and clear the names of the innocent. This lady is made of far sterner stuff than sugar and spice and everything nice, and she never ceases to win us over with her unconventional bravado.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mully Murphy is comfort reading for me: usually a witty, light mystery packed with feminism and historical details. Alas, it seems no longer to be the case – after 13 instalments it seems that Molly lost her spite. This book was mostly about walking around aimlessly and miserably. There were also a few superficial discussions about art paintings thrown in the mix, which couldn’t have been more repetitive or boring. Not sure I should continue at this point and probably need another comfort read for the future ☹

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a case Daniel is working on turns dangerous, Molly and Liam leave New York to join Sid and Gus in Paris. But when her reception is not what she expected, is Molly in more danger now than she was before?

More than any other book in the series, I felt this one had a large number of real people popping up in Molly's fictional world. The plot was good with some twists I didn't expect and the characters are so real by this point I just love visiting them. All told, it was a great trip back to 1905.

NOTE: I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Margaret]

Did not finish.

The book failed the 50 page rule.

Captain Daniel Sullivan is an annoying, obnoxious, arse. Only the fact it's a library book saved it from being thrown with great force across the room.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always great fun to spend some time with Molly Murphy, now known as Mrs. Molly Sullivan. The story was great, loved that Sid and Gus had a bigger part in this book. And also, loved that Molly got to spend time in another country and town. My reason, why I gave this book a three star rating was. I felt in places, the story just kept going in circles. I didn't really feel, any growth in Molly as a character even though now, she is a mother. I didn't really care that much for Daniel in this book, he hasn't been one of my favorite characters in the series. I just don't like how he treats Molly sometimes in the books and especially, in this book. I was so glad he didn't have a big part in this book.

[David Freas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not as engaging as prior entries. It was much slower paced and seemed to drag. Plus there was too much ‘touring’ around Paris.

This was a ‘Let’s meet famous people’ book as well. Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Mary Cassatt, and Booth Tarkington all make an appearance. While it is possible to run into celebrities, I always find it hard to buy into it happening in a novel because it seems forced. Realistically, what are the odds of an average person crossing paths with four famous people in three days in a city the size of Paris?

Despite this, Bowen delivers an interesting murder in a tale full of twists, setbacks, and wrong turns.

And that’s enough to make me keep reading this series.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fluffy read not requiring much thought. Incredible in lack of historical accuracy. I particularly dislike the addition of same sex relationships being promoted in books where these affairs would have been hidden and discreet during the time period. It's like the author is pushing an agenda.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is the thirteenth in the Molly Murphy series, but certainly is not bad luck. Rhys Bowen continues her saga of Molly and her husband Daniel, a New York policeman. Now, they have a son and a new home; all is going well until an Italian gang sends a bomb hurtling through the front door. Liam is upstairs with the maid who covers the baby with her body.

Daniel's reaction is to send Mollie and Liam to Paris to stay with her friends Sid and Gus. Arriving in Paris, Molly discovers that her two friends have disappeared and sets out to find them. Her search takes her through all levels of society including cafes, expensive salons, and Monmartre, home to the artists. Molly meets the great Impressionism artists Degas, Monet, And Mary Cassatt.

She discovers the dead body of painter Reynold Bryce and strives to solve the murder because Gus had been the last to see him and is in hiding at Mary Cassatt's home.

This is another great story about Molly Sullivan and her continuation of detecting.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book in my local library and was captured by the front cover art and the jacket blurb.

This is the first Molly Murphy mystery I have read, and it takes the heroine to Paris in the earliest days of the modern art movement. Sent to visit her friends while her police officer husband deals with a gang that has threatened the family, Molly believes she will be safe.

Until she arrives in Paris and discovers that her friends have disappeared.

The book is rich in detail, peopled with historical figures and details right alongside the fictional ones. The mystery is well-created, involving not only the disappearance of Molly's friends, but the murder of one of the American expatriate artists living in the City of Light.

I think my previous studies of the Parisian modern art movement helped my appreciation and enjoyment of this book; there are references to Max Utrillo (simply called "Max" in the text), for example, that might be obscure to someone unfamiliar to the movement.

I would recommend this book to my fellow Francophiles.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Rhys Bowen's books. I have read all of Constable Evans, most of Lady Georgie and now all of Molly Murphy Sullivan. The characters are all people you want to spend time with. They do have the most interesting adventures. Her books are fun to read and this one is no exception.

The plot device to get Molly to Paris is a little over the top but I can overlook that. Turn of the century Paris is such a wonderful place to set a book that how it gets to be the setting can be forgiven. The mystery that unfolds is in line with the previous books.

The one complaint I have is the amount of name dropping. Many historical books have their fictional characters interacting with real historical characters. But I found it was just too much of it here.

I received a free copy of this book as part of a GoodReads' give-a-way.

[EmiliAna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hätte ich die irische Auswanderin Molly Murphy, die sich im New York des beginnenden 20. Jahrhunderts mit Mut, Witz und Elan ein neues Leben aufbaut und die Neugier, mit der sie gesegnet ist, nutzbringend als Privatdetektivin einsetzt, nicht schon aus den zwölf Vorgängerbänden des hier zu besprechenden Romans 'Mord unter Künstlern' (im englischen Original 'City of Darkness and Light') gekannt, sondern wäre sie mir hier in Band 13 zum ersten Mal über dem Weg gelaufen, so wäre es mit Gewissheit bei dieser einen Begegnung geblieben! Wahrscheinlich hätte ich dann die teils in New York, teils in Paris und teils auf einem Überseedampfer auf dem Weg nach Frankreich spielende Geschichte nicht einmal zu Ende gelesen und als uninteressant, uninspirierend und leider langweilig – drei Attribute, die einem Cosy Crime, denn in dieses Genre sind Rhys Bowens Molly-Bücher einzureihen, nicht zueigen sein sollten – zur Seite gelegt und alsbald vergessen.
Da ich der umtriebigen Molly Murphy, inzwischen nach der von mir mit Skepsis beäugten Heirat mit dem immer humorloser und despotischer werdenden New Yorker Polizisten Daniel Molly Sullivan, aber viel Sympathie entgegenbringe, gab ich dem Buch, und damit der so veränderten Protagonistin selber, eine Chance und quälte mich bis zum Ende durch – und zweifle sehr, dass ich die noch folgenden Bände lesen werde!
Selten ist es eine gute Idee, Bücherserien über Gebühr auszudehnen, selbst wenn die Protagonisten noch so gut ankommen beim Publikum – irgendwann lässt der Reiz nach und es stellen sich Ermüdungserscheinungen ein. Noch dazu, wenn ein so rebellischer und eigenständiger, für die damalige Zeit geradezu revolutionärer Frauencharakter wie Molly Murphy eine unverständliche, ihr gar nicht bekommende Kehrtwendung macht und ihre Freiheit aufgibt, um einen zunehmend bornierter werdenden Macho zu heiraten, der seiner Frau kategorisch das 'Detektivspielen' untersagt (was Molly bereits vor der Eheschließung wusste, aber auf ihre typische Art erstmal ignorierte). Treusorgendes und ganz auf den Herrn des Hauses konzentriertes Hausmütterchen und jetzt auch noch Mutter des kleinen Liam, Ebenbild seines aufgeblasenen Wichtigtuers von Vater, ständig bemüht, ihrer Rolle, in der sie per se nicht hereinpasst, gerecht zu werden, sich als schlechte Mutter fühlend, wenn sie nicht von Früh bis Spät um den Säugling herumschwirrt – so begegnen wir Molly, ja genau, der Molly von einst mit dem gesunden Menschenverstand, in dieser Geschichte!
Beinahe dankbar war ich für das natürlich äußerst verwerfliche Attentat der sich gerade in New York zur gefürchteten Instanz etablierenden Cosa Nostra, gegen die der Ehemann ermittelt, auf die Sullivans, bei dem das unglückselige Kindermädchen getötet und das Haus zerstört wurde. Denn nun bestand Daniel darauf, dass seine Frau die Einladung ihrer beiden unangepassten Freundinnen Sid und Gus annimmt, denen er ansonsten wenig Sympathie entgegen bringt, und zu ihnen nach Paris reist. Weg von Daniel, so hofft man, findet Molly vielleicht zu ihrem alten, amüsanten Selbst zurück...
Nach einer so ermüdend zu lesenden wie überflüssigerweise in die Länge gezogenen Schiffsreise – und nach nunmehr einem Drittel des Buches – kommen Molly und Sohn Liam endlich in Paris an! Und Molly stellt zu ihrem Schrecken fest, dass die beiden Freundinnen, allem Anschein nach überstürzt, ihre Wohnung verlassen haben! Wenn Molly vor einigen Jahren noch voller Neugierde und Unternehmungslust in New York gelandet war, fest entschlossen, sich nicht unterkriegen zu lassen und sich mit zupackendem Eifer eine Zukunft zu schaffen, so erleben wir jetzt eine verängstigte junge Frau, die unsicher in Paris herumtappt (kilometerweit übrigens und in denkbar ungeeignetem Schuhwerk!), das Baby im Schlepptau oder es bei der Bäckersfrau an der Ecke deponierend, auf der Suche nach Sid und Gus, das Schlimmste befürchtend. Nein, die Ehe, die sie zur Untätigkeit verdammt, tut Molly überhaupt nicht gut, beraubt sie jeglichen Selbstbewusstseins. Das wiederum tut der Geschichte nicht gut, genauso wenig, wie das prompte Zusammentreffen mit dem jungen, höchst ungebärdigen Picasso, mit Degas und Mary Cassett – Künstlergrößen ihrer Zeit. Das scheint alles viel zu sehr an den Haaren herbeigezogen, was auch für den Mord an einem rätselhaften amerikanischen Maler mit abstoßender Gesinnung gilt, über den Molly auf ihrer Odyssee durch die französische Hauptstadt stolpert – und den sie, denn so kennen wir sie, unbedingt auf eigene Faust aufklären möchte.
Und endlich erlebt man einen Hauch der alten Molly, denn an ihren unüberlegten, planlosen Ermittlungsversuchen, hinter denen auch in New York schon kein System steckte, hat sich nichts geändert! Doch stellt sich der Spaß, der bei fast allen Vorgängerbänden, wenn man einmal vom letzten, bereits deutliche Schwächen aufweisenden Buch absieht, immer präsent war, diesmal nicht ein. Man ist vielmehr froh, als sich die Dinge endlich aufklären, ebenso bemüht und ohne Originalität, wie die gesamte Geschichte auch, und man das Buch endlich zuklappen kann. Der Abschied von Molly Murphy, die nach getaner Arbeit und der Wiedervereinigung mit Sid und Gus, die in Paris ihren Esprit verloren haben und wenn nicht zu Witzfiguren, dann doch zu komisch-schrulligen, nicht ernst zu nehmenden, belächelten Weibsbildern mutiert sind, so schnell wie möglich zum leidigen Daniel zurückkehren möchte, fällt diesmal nicht schwer. Und das Interesse an ihrem weiteren Lebensweg hält sich, um es freundlich auszudrücken, in engen Grenzen....

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molly goes to Paris after her house she shares w/ her, now husband, Captain Daniel Sullivan, is bombed and burned, and the maid is killed saving their son. Her long time friends Sid and Gus are in Paris and invited her to come for a visit, Daniel feels she will be safe there until he has completed his case against the leader of the Costa Nostra mob. Molly arrives to find Sid and Gus missing and her first order of business is to find them.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this Molly Murphy mystery, Molly goes to Paris in order to escape the early Mafia which has retaliated against her policeman husband's attempts to arrest some of its members by bombing their home, killing the nursemaid in the process. Molly and her baby Liam go to Paris to stay with Sid and Gus, Molly's steadfast friends. When Molly arrives in Paris, Sid and Gus are no where to be found and Molly must try to find them in a part of the world where she has never been and knows no one.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bomb explores in the Sullivan's home burning it and killing the maid as she protected Liam. Daniel decides to send Molly and Liam to Paris to keep them safe. After a voyage Molly arrives in Paris to Sid and Gus missing. Looking for them Molly encounters the Paris police when trying to question a person who might know where they have gone. Molly begins to wonder if they are safe.

[Cece Cope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vintage Mollie Murphy but set in Gertrude Stein's Paris

On the short leash that the role of nursing mother allows, Mollie's quest first for the missing Sid and Gus and later for the murderer that has put them into hiding has her risking her safety or her freedom almost every time she leaves her new baby.

[Lucy Burdette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful visit to early 19th century Paris with Rhys Bowen's delightful, smart, spunky heroine Molly Murphy. Bowen is a master with historical whodunnits, producing lively characters, a fascinating setting, and a clever mystery.

[Hermien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful Molly Murphy mystery, this time set in Paris in the early 1900's where Molly runs into contemporary famous people such as Gertrude Stein, Degas, Booth Tarkington and Picasso. The Dreyfus affair also plays a small part.

[Cyndie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sure I had the killer figured out and was pretty disappointed that it was so easy. I was wrong, although I did suspect the actual killer too, I just wasn't sure what their motive was.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Molly Murphy Mysteries. They are fast moving,clever mysteries. I also love the historical facts that are included. But what happened to Josette. I was hoping Gus and Sid would save her.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series and this one was great - I had no idea who the killer was! The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I felt that ending was a bit rushed, but I still enjoyed it.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a good mystery, the kind that you like to read sitting on the porch on a summer afternoon.

[Rachel McMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does anyone else kinda wish Molly had ended up with Jacob instead of Daniel?

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all of the Molly Murphy series, and I loved them all.

[Nicholas George · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having greatly enjoyed Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness series, I decided to drop in on another of her characters--spunky Molly Murphy (Sullivan), a young Irish lass solving mysteries in the early 20th century. Alas! Even though this one takes place in turn-of-the-century Paris, amid its storied art scene (and includes figures such as Degas, Picasso, Gertrude Stein and others), it's disappointingly flat. There's none of the whimsy or cleverness of the Royal Spyness books. Granted, I know this one is rather late in the series, but it doesn't make me want to read any of the others. (In addition, there was a rather glaring editorial gaffe concerning the name of a principal character.)

[EmiliAna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hätte ich die irische Auswanderin Molly Murphy, die sich im New York des beginnenden 20. Jahrhunderts mit Mut, Witz und Elan ein neues Leben aufbaut und die Neugier, mit der sie gesegnet ist, nutzbringend als Privatdetektivin einsetzt, nicht schon aus den zwölf Vorgängerbänden des hier zu besprechenden Romans 'Mord unter Künstlern' (im englischen Original 'City of Darkness and Light') gekannt, sondern wäre sie mir hier in Band 13 zum ersten Mal über dem Weg gelaufen, so wäre es mit Gewissheit bei dieser einen Begegnung geblieben! Wahrscheinlich hätte ich dann die teils in New York, teils in Paris und teils auf einem Überseedampfer auf dem Weg nach Frankreich spielende Geschichte nicht einmal zu Ende gelesen und als uninteressant, uninspirierend und leider langweilig – drei Attribute, die einem Cosy Crime, denn in dieses Genre sind Rhys Bowens Molly-Bücher einzureihen, nicht zueigen sein sollten – zur Seite gelegt und alsbald vergessen.
Da ich der umtriebigen Molly Murphy, inzwischen nach der von mir mit Skepsis beäugten Heirat mit dem immer humorloser und despotischer werdenden New Yorker Polizisten Daniel Molly Sullivan, aber viel Sympathie entgegenbringe, gab ich dem Buch, und damit der so veränderten Protagonistin selber, eine Chance und quälte mich bis zum Ende durch – und zweifle sehr, dass ich die noch folgenden Bände lesen werde!
Selten ist es eine gute Idee, Bücherserien über Gebühr auszudehnen, selbst wenn die Protagonisten noch so gut ankommen beim Publikum – irgendwann lässt der Reiz nach und es stellen sich Ermüdungserscheinungen ein. Noch dazu, wenn ein so rebellischer und eigenständiger, für die damalige Zeit geradezu revolutionärer Frauencharakter wie Molly Murphy eine unverständliche, ihr gar nicht bekommende Kehrtwendung macht und ihre Freiheit aufgibt, um einen zunehmend bornierter werdenden Macho zu heiraten, der seiner Frau kategorisch das 'Detektivspielen' untersagt (was Molly bereits vor der Eheschließung wusste, aber auf ihre typische Art erstmal ignorierte). Treusorgendes und ganz auf den Herrn des Hauses konzentriertes Hausmütterchen und jetzt auch noch Mutter des kleinen Liam, Ebenbild seines aufgeblasenen Wichtigtuers von Vater, ständig bemüht, ihrer Rolle, in der sie per se nicht hereinpasst, gerecht zu werden, sich als schlechte Mutter fühlend, wenn sie nicht von Früh bis Spät um den Säugling herumschwirrt – so begegnen wir Molly, ja genau, der Molly von einst mit dem gesunden Menschenverstand, in dieser Geschichte!
Beinahe dankbar war ich für das natürlich äußerst verwerfliche Attentat der sich gerade in New York zur gefürchteten Instanz etablierenden Cosa Nostra, gegen die der Ehemann ermittelt, auf die Sullivans, bei dem das unglückselige Kindermädchen getötet und das Haus zerstört wurde. Denn nun bestand Daniel darauf, dass seine Frau die Einladung ihrer beiden unangepassten Freundinnen Sid und Gus annimmt, denen er ansonsten wenig Sympathie entgegen bringt, und zu ihnen nach Paris reist. Weg von Daniel, so hofft man, findet Molly vielleicht zu ihrem alten, amüsanten Selbst zurück...
Nach einer so ermüdend zu lesenden wie überflüssigerweise in die Länge gezogenen Schiffsreise – und nach nunmehr einem Drittel des Buches – kommen Molly und Sohn Liam endlich in Paris an! Und Molly stellt zu ihrem Schrecken fest, dass die beiden Freundinnen, allem Anschein nach überstürzt, ihre Wohnung verlassen haben! Wenn Molly vor einigen Jahren noch voller Neugierde und Unternehmungslust in New York gelandet war, fest entschlossen, sich nicht unterkriegen zu lassen und sich mit zupackendem Eifer eine Zukunft zu schaffen, so erleben wir jetzt eine verängstigte junge Frau, die unsicher in Paris herumtappt (kilometerweit übrigens und in denkbar ungeeignetem Schuhwerk!), das Baby im Schlepptau oder es bei der Bäckersfrau an der Ecke deponierend, auf der Suche nach Sid und Gus, das Schlimmste befürchtend. Nein, die Ehe, die sie zur Untätigkeit verdammt, tut Molly überhaupt nicht gut, beraubt sie jeglichen Selbstbewusstseins. Das wiederum tut der Geschichte nicht gut, genauso wenig, wie das prompte Zusammentreffen mit dem jungen, höchst ungebärdigen Picasso, mit Degas und Mary Cassett – Künstlergrößen ihrer Zeit. Das scheint alles viel zu sehr an den Haaren herbeigezogen, was auch für den Mord an einem rätselhaften amerikanischen Maler mit abstoßender Gesinnung gilt, über den Molly auf ihrer Odyssee durch die französische Hauptstadt stolpert – und den sie, denn so kennen wir sie, unbedingt auf eigene Faust aufklären möchte.
Und endlich erlebt man einen Hauch der alten Molly, denn an ihren unüberlegten, planlosen Ermittlungsversuchen, hinter denen auch in New York schon kein System steckte, hat sich nichts geändert! Doch stellt sich der Spaß, der bei fast allen Vorgängerbänden, wenn man einmal vom letzten, bereits deutliche Schwächen aufweisenden Buch absieht, immer präsent war, diesmal nicht ein. Man ist vielmehr froh, als sich die Dinge endlich aufklären, ebenso bemüht und ohne Originalität, wie die gesamte Geschichte auch, und man das Buch endlich zuklappen kann. Der Abschied von Molly Murphy, die nach getaner Arbeit und der Wiedervereinigung mit Sid und Gus, die in Paris ihren Esprit verloren haben und wenn nicht zu Witzfiguren, dann doch zu komisch-schrulligen, nicht ernst zu nehmenden, belächelten Weibsbildern mutiert sind, so schnell wie möglich zum leidigen Daniel zurückkehren möchte, fällt diesmal nicht schwer. Und das Interesse an ihrem weiteren Lebensweg hält sich, um es freundlich auszudrücken, in engen Grenzen....