City of Darkness and Light, A Molly Murphy Mystery
It’s 1905, and Molly Murphy, former private investigator, settles into domestic life as Mrs. Daniel Sullivan with their baby son, Liam. Their life is soon shattered when a bomb destroys their home to avenge Captain Sullivan’s arrest of a dangerous Cosa Nostra boss. Fearing worse reprisals, Daniel insists that Molly visit her expatriate friends who live in Paris. Arriving by ship with Lima in tow, her friends fail to meet her.
Sitting in the silent Paris flat, Molly recalls that Gus mentioned a career introduction to painter Reynold Bryce, and tracks down his home to learn he’s been murdered. Returning to the Paris flat, she finds odd postcards of children that seem like vague clues; one child looks like Liam. Following the local artists’ haunts, Molly is directed to the well-known “lady painter,” Mary Cassatt, where Gus announces, “You’ve found us.” Molly‘s relief is short-lived when things take a turn for the worse.
Rhys Bowen has written a corkscrew of a plot around colorful characters in the Parisian Impressionist art world. But it’s Molly’s unrelenting determination to brave every stratum of society to uncover Truth that keeps the reader turning the pages to a satisfying conclusion.
