Letters From Paris

Letters from Paris is the latest novel by Juliet Blackwell. Chance "Claire" Broussard lives in Chicago, Illinois. Claire (as she prefers to be called since leaving Louisiana) receives a call from her cousin, Jessica. Her grandmother is not well and wants to see Claire. Instead of taking a leave of absence or a few days off, Claire gives up her job, apartment, and boyfriend and heads home to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana (she has not been happy in Chicago). Her grandmother, Mammaw is very ill. Mammaw raised Claire after her mother passed away in an accident, and she was removed from her father's custody. When Claire is checking the attic for a leak, she finds a box. Inside is a beautiful mask that arrived broken. Claire has many memories of the mask. It intrigues her as a child (and still does) and Claire wonders about the history behind it. Her grandmother encourages her to Paris (where the mask came from) and get answers. After her grandmother passes away, Claire is at loose ends. She feels that she does not belong in Louisiana or Chicago. So Claire heads for Paris. Claire starts with the company that made the mask of the woman. The mask is called L'Iconnue de la Seine (The Unknown Woman of the Seine) and was made by Lombardi family at their atelier. There Claire encounters Armand Lombardi and Giselle Bouvay. They need assistance in the atelier (a sales girl who can translate), and Claire wants information on the mask. Join Claire on her journey for answers about the mask of The Unknown Woman of the Seine in Letters from Paris.

Letters from Paris has an interesting premise. The book tells us the history of the mask by going back in time to 1897 and Sabine Moreau (the model for the mask). I was looking forward to Letters from Paris, but I have to admit that I was disappointed with the book. I found it to be a slow read and a very long book (it really needed to be edited down). This is a stand-alone book (you do not need to read The Paris Key). The writing is good, but it is lacking (the book is nothing like Juliet Blackwell's cozy mysteries). The author did a very good job at capturing time and place with her descriptive writing. There is the mystery of the mask, but there is also the romance that develops between Armand and Claire (first they fight and then slowly get to know each other). The answers Claire seeks come at the very end of the book. I give Letters from Paris 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is a lovely story, but it was just not for me. I could not get into this book, and I felt that it dragged. I am a big fan of Juliet Blackwell, and I will definitely be reading her future works.

I received a complimentary copy of Letters from Paris in exchange for an honest evaluation. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.