Decadence and darkness…
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Published 10th September 2013 in US
and due 30th September 2013 in UK
It’s 1929 and Paris is filled with avant-garde artists leading the bohemian life. So when Harris Stuyvesant, ex-FBI agent turned private investigator, is hired to find a missing young American woman he fully expects to find her so immersed in this exciting world that she’s simply forgotten the folks back home. That is, until he meets Inspector Doucet, a man worried about unsolved disappearances stretching back for years. As Harris plunges into the strange and twisted world of surrealist art, Grand Guinol theatre, decadence and drugs, he begins to realise that the glittering artistic society hides a dark secret…
This is a fairly slow-burn thriller, with the author taking time to build character and give a vivid depiction of bohemian Paris between the wars. The second in a series, it works well as a standalone, although more and more I wished I’d read the first book first. King fills in enough background on the three recurring characters as the book progresses but I found I really wanted to know what had happened in the past to bring them to where they were in this book.
Stuyvesant is an engaging hero, hard-boiled on the surface but with a soft heart that he sometimes can’t keep hidden. As he becomes attracted to the missing girl’s roommate, his life is complicated when he meets up with the lost love of his life. Sarah is now working as assistant to the Comte de Charmentier, one of the men Stuyvesant suspects knows more about Pip’s disappearance than he’s telling. And as Stuyvesant gradually gets nearer the truth, he realises that Sarah herself may be in danger…
King takes us into the world of experimental art and theatre; a world both sensual and disturbing, led by men shaped in part by their experiences of the horrors of war and now stretching the bounds of morality in their lives and their art. King mixes real and fictional characters together so skilfully that this reader was never sure where the dividing line was, and I found her picture of this selfish and self-absorbed society completely convincing. The story is often macabre, sometimes gruesome, but always compelling. Highly recommended, though I would suggest it’s probably better to read them in order – I have added the first book, Touchstone, to my own TBR list and will be intrigued to see where King takes her characters in future books.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House.
When I saw the name “Laurie R King” a brain-cell kicked in. I knew that I had not read this book’s predecessor but I have (of course!) read her “Mary Russell” series, which are Sherlock Holmes pastiches and are excellent. So I shall certainly look out for these two – not on Kindle yet tho’.
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Yes, I’ve heard that her pastiches are good but will never read them – a female assistant? Yeuch!! But this one, and presumably its predecessor, are well worth reading.
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No,no,no,no,no……… Not really an “assistant”, more of an apprentice. Holmes is old and Mary is very young (fifteen in the first book) and most importantly, not a pseudo- Watson. If you ever run out of books (!?!), give these a go.
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Nope!! Lady Fancifull has been trying to talk me into them for years but I stand firm! Some principles cannot be put aside for mere pleasure. I’d as soon watch Johnny Depp as Holmes kissing a woman! 😉
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Now, that really is a “Yuck”!
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FictionFan – King is really talented, and one of her skills is creating an atmosphere that reflects the historical era. I shall definitely have to try this one.
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A goodie! I hope I get around to reading the first in the series before the third comes out!
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You may not warm to her Mary Russell books (and I have toadmit that the novelty has worn off where I’m concerned) but I did enjoy her Kate Martinelli books set in modern day California. I’ve not tried ‘Touchstone’ but might give it a go and then look at this one if the former takes my fancy.
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I hadn’t realised she’d written anything other than the Mary Russell series and this one. Thanks for that – I’d definitely be keen to read more of her work. 🙂
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Hmm I’m afraid this got (or will, when it’s released and i can do the Amazon thingy) the thumbs down, big time from me – and that was because of the ‘let’s abuse a real character now they are dead and can’t answer back’ I agree, a selfish and self-obsessed world, but it wasn’t good enough to make some pretty heinous accusations against one of the artists of the time and then write a limp disclaimer in the afterword saying ‘there is no reason to suspect (name) of anything but his genius. Had he been alive, no doubt she would have found herself in court on a libel action. I have no idea whether he had heirs (possibly not, else no doubt they might so respond!)
THAT has put me right off Laurie R King – travestying a fictional character by giving him a female assistant is completely forgiveable, in my book, by comparison! Hrrrrrrrrrrumph!
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Hmm! I know what you mean and I knew you felt that – I think you’d told me in an e-mail. So I googled, and I’m afraid her accusation is one that seems to have basis in fact. So I forgave her. I agree totally that it’s wrong to traduce someone’s reputation, but to repeat something that seems to be pretty much accepted as fact seems OK. In fact, a whitewash is as bad as a slander, possibly. I read somewhere else that he was also influenced by the Marquis de Sade. All-in-all, I thought he sounded as deeply unpleasant in real as in this.
I think her comment meant there was no reason to suspect him of being a serial killer…but there I can’t go, without spoilers.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/visual/women-dominate-the-frame-in-man-ray-exhibition.1370746803
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oh sure, not a pleasant bunny – but still, the woman done wrong with this, by several steps too far I thought
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I would ask you why, but spoilers. An e-mail conversation looms…
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I enjoyed the first Mary Russell book, but then I found out how things develop over the series, and decided to leave it there… This sounds really interesting, though.
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I have an unbreakable rule about Holmes pastiches – no women!! Well, they can be the client or the victim, but not the assistant or…gulp…the love interest!
This one really is good though – but I’d definitely recommend starting with the first one.
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Ah, a gruesome read. Sounds interesting. A great place for a story to take place, I think.
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Yes, I’d like to visit the Paris catacombs someday…nicely creepy, I should imagine.
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That would be awesome. And very creepy–especially if you take SK’s picture with you…and Bob!
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Bob for protection! I should think even the skulls might be scared by SK’s face… 😯
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😆 Very probable. We should take BigSister for protection too–now that she’s learned the secret of the katana.
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Hmm! Bob, SK’s face, thousands of dead people and the Professor and BigSister both armed to the teeth – this could be an even more frightening experience than I was anticipating…
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😆 Maybe there’s bats and moths in the cave too?
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😯 😯 😯 Is there a doctor in the house? I think I need resuscitation…
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I’ll bring the doctor from the PL…
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Now I’m really scared…
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The whole event is scary. Perhaps it should be forgotten. (Really interested to know what you think of Sevilla, from the CD.)
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It’s interesting you should ask about that particular one. It’s one of the very few (perhaps the only -still checking) that I possess done by someone else – in this case John Williams. Williams plays it much faster – in fact about a whole minute faster over a five minute piece. I like both versions, but am still pondering whether I prefer it played more quickly or slowly…
Apart from the concierto the one that’s really standing out for me so far is the Pastorale – delicious!
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Very 😎 You see, while I love Sevilla, I do think that it’s taken far too slowly on this particular recording. Williams plays everything fast. And I must say, I like his interpretation much better.
It’s funny that you should say that. Pastorale is the professor’s favorite!
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Yes, I think I probably like the Williams version better too – though I’ll see once I’m equally familiar with both.
Does the professor play guitar?
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Definitely let me know. I was disappointed with the one on the CD at first. Leyenda can also be played that way.
Yes.
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I will. Leyenda? Don’t see that – does it go by another name? Or was that just a general comment not related to this CD?
Yes? 😆 That was a short and sweet answer! A multi-talented professor indeed! Classical? Heavy metal? Both? At the same time? 😉
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No, sorry! Leyenda is just another example of a classical guitar piece that can be taken slow or fast. Williams plays it wonderfully fast; Segovia is a bit slower. Sorry for all this info!!!
Not that talented…umm…this is getting uncomfortable. But, the professor trained classically. Jazz is also 😎 and not heavy metal. I have played rock, though, I think…
😆 At the same time? That would be awesome.
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Don’t be sorry! I love learning more about music – it’s an area of enjoyment I neglected for far too long.
I’m sorry, though – I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m just intrigued by my multi-faceted Professor – or to put it another way, I’m just plain nosy! I will desist from interrogating you… 🙂
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The professor is just so surprised that you like classical guitar–and thrilled. 😀
Don’t worry about it! It’s only natural for you to ask. The professor would have asked, and he might have been even more naughty! 😉
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Why surprised? Even I don’t read all the time… 😉
But as I say, I’m don’t know much about it and haven’t listened to much so it’s interesting to ‘meet’ someone who is knowledgeable.
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I’m not sure. I suppose it’s because classical guitar isn’t too popular.
The professor is honored. 🙂 But he’s not that knowledgeable.
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I’ve read the Mary Russell series and enjoyed them. That era in Paris is a fascinating setting. I’ll have to give it a read and recommend it to my Francophile friends 🙂
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I’ve steered clear of the Mary Russell books on the grounds that a female working with Holmes is sacriligeous! But the fact that I enjoyed this one so much is making me wonder if I should reconsider…
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