Susan Flowers

I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a review.

Giovanni de Caro is an expert on historical books. He knows that a decade earlier, there was a theft of several items from a museum in Paris. All the items pertain to Queens of historical significance. Now he has received a cryptic message threatening his ex-wife unless he recovers those pieces. Along with Iris Dittmeyer, they head to NYC to find any clue as to the whereabouts of these precious items. Using sources show more from his days as a forger, he is able to trace one of these missing relics.
A game of cat-and-mouse. De Caro and Dittmeyer have to keep their wits about them as they try to follow a string of clues that will hopefully lead them to one of the relics. The story is fast-paced and engaging. I enjoyed the characters and the energy the author brought forth in this book. I found myself drawn to the quirky di Caro and his personality, as well as Iris’s contributions to the search. I’m looking forward to the next installment as the duo continue their search for the next missing item. show less

In this book, Iris helps her friend Giovanni search for a rare book stolen from a museum years before. The incentive for the search is a life threatening message that he received, but with no information that could lead to who sent it. The search will lead to our getting a lot of information about the book itself, its original owner, and so we get a quick reminder course on English history. But we also get a look on life inside retirement homes and how elderly people live their end of life. show more The characters' mood switches, the plot twists, the multiple murder suspects, the changes between the investigation and the meal descriptions, a little romance, all these ingredients make for an interesting book recipe. show less

I read about a quarter of this book and got annoyed by Iris's jealousy of everyone Gio talked to. I saw others had good reviews so I'll give it another try.