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ClareR (6054 KP) rated Appointment in Paris in Books

Sep 17, 2025  
Appointment in Paris
Appointment in Paris
Jane Thynne | 2025 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was on the edge of my seat from the first page of Appointment in Paris - Jane Thynne certainly knows how to set the tone!

This is the second book in The Harry Fox/ Stella Fry series (well, I hope it’s going to be a series!), and set a year after the first book, Midnight in Vienna. War looms ever closer: Poland has fallen, Amsterdam, Belgium and France are next on Hitler’s occupation list.

When a German officer is found dead at a top secret POW camp in a former stately home, and one of the German Listeners goes missing, the worry is that vital information will fall into the wrong hands. Enter Maxwell Knight, Harry’s former MI5 handler. He wants Harry to find the missing listener, and hands the job of the murder investigation over to Stella.

Stella goes undercover as a listener at Trent Park - her fluent German once again proving its worth. She’s a determined, astute, intelligent woman.

I was a little puzzled as I read, as to why the title is “Appointment in Paris”, because most of this book takes place between London and Trent Park. You just need to be patient, though. And then you’ll be back on the edge of your seat.

The attention to detail is what really makes this book: the preparations for war, the blackout, the fear of the refugees, the jazz clubs. Every now and again, a real person form that time is mentioned (Agatha Christie and Noël Coward).

I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t read the first in this series - YET!! But I WILL be! I really like the characters of Harry and Stella, and I’d love to experience their war with them. So I’ll be watching out for the next instalment!

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of the book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
  
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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Giovanni's Room in Books

Sep 4, 2017  
Giovanni's Room
Giovanni's Room
James Baldwin | 2007 | Essays
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one of those great works of literature where despite loathing the protagonist, the prose is so magnificent you can see past it - almost. It definitely reminded me of Nabokov's renowned tale Lolita where you detest Humbert Humbert, but it's still a masterpiece.

This is the story of an American David, set in the 1950s-1960s, who begins a tumultuous love affair with an Italian man in Paris, while deciding whether to marry his fiancee. He is arrogant, selfish, spoilt and horribly flawed to the point you just think he's more evil than misguided. He can't admit to himself that he is gay, but instead strings along everyone around him and says he's punishing himself. In the end, his lack of character destroys everyone around him including himself but in a very different way. Massively misogynistic at times and I'm not sure if it was the author's intention or a reflection of how he also sees women. Beautifully written nonetheless.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2464 KP) rated The Mystery of the Antique Doll (Trixie Belden, #36) in Books

Mar 9, 2018  
TM
The Mystery of the Antique Doll (Trixie Belden, #36)
Kathryn Kenny | 1984
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A new antique shop has opened in Sleepyside, and when Trixie and Honey visit the shop, they find Carl, the owner, rude. But Trixie really gets suspicious when he asks them to do him a favor on a weekend trip to Paris, and they find themselves being followed after doing it. What have they stumbled into?

While not among my least favorites in the series, I certainly do see the flaws. The plot drives the book more than logic and the author has to twist things around in pretty painful ways to get to the climax. Having said that, I do enjoy the climax, and I think the idea behind the mystery was good. Some of the series regulars are reduced to cameos, and this is the infamous books where Trixie knits.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/07/book-review-mystery-of-antique-doll-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.