Australian author Kirsty Manning (The Lost Jewels) launches a new cozy mystery series with this stellar entry, set in the stunning summertime beauty of 1938 Paris. Intrepid investigative reporter Charlotte "Charlie" James arrives in Paris with high hopes for her new position with the Times newspaper. Her personal baggage includes a freshly wounded heart, having recently discovered her husband was unfaithful, and her divorce is imminent. She welcomes the distraction of her new life, where her first assignment has her interviewing a luminary in Paris's high society and her aristocratic British husband. Invited to attend the influential couple's glamorous Circus Ball to celebrate the summer solstice, Charlie is on scene when a wealthy guest, a powerful investment banker and notorious womanizer, is found murdered. Charlie becomes immersed in the world of haute couture, Parisian high society, and political machinations when her editor assigns her the story. There are far too many potential suspects, and Charlie must employ every analytical principle learned at her attorney father's knee as she searches for clues to narrow the list and reveal the killer's identity.
Readers join Charlie in the glamorous, decadent world of the novel and its Chanel gowns, Hermѐs handbags, Brut champagne, buttery croissants, and the fabulous sights and sounds of beautiful Paris. The story--with intriguing characters, a fast plot that twists and turns, a growing list of dead bodies, and a very surprising final reveal--is certain to leave readers wonderfully satisfied and eagerly awaiting the next installment in this charming series. --Lois Faye Dyer, writer and reviewer