Paris Readers Circle-Members Bonanza
The Great Mann
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In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.’s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions.
In 1945, Charlie Trammell steps off a cross-country train into the vibrant tapestry of Los Angeles. Lured by his cousin Marguerite’s invitation to the esteemed West Adams Heights, Charlie is immediately captivated by the Black opulence of L.A.’s newly rechristened “Sugar Hill.”
With traces of Elroy and Mosley, Lurie deftly mixes real personalities like Lena Horne, Hattie McDaniel and Norman Houston, president of Golden State Mutual Insurance with her collection of imagined characters.
A. compelling narrative of wealth and class, illuminating the complexities of Black identity and education in post-war America.
The Fire Concerto
5 PRC Members will win a copy
Clara Bishop is a former world renowned classical pianist who, after surviving a fire in the Warsaw Symphony Concert Hall, never played again. Instead, ten years later she is living a “normal” life in Austin Texas, tending bar and trying not to be angry with people who stare at the scars on her face and hand. Seemingly out of nowhere she receives an invitation from Madame, her former strict, mean, hostile piano teacher, who also was a world renowned performer, demanding her presence at a recital. She is thereafter bequeathed a strange gift: a metronome she has never seen before. The metronome, and a puzzling inscription on its box, lead Clara on a fascinating search, across the world, to learn of its origin, and importantly, its history, which may include being the murder weapon in the death of composer Aleksander Starza, allegedly at the hands of the brilliant pianist Constantia Pleyel. Along the way Clara is pursued by strangers who have learned of the metronome’s existence and its value, and by those who want to keep the past and its mysteries hidden. This novel is fascinating and, for those of us who have never been trained in classical music, an intriguing glimpse into, and education about, that world, while keeping us turning the pages of a spell binding mystery.-Patricia Diekmann
The Expat Affair
5 Paris Readers Circle members will win a copy
Reyna Dumont is an American recently arrived in Amsterdam, looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life after leaving a cheating husband behind. Willow Prins is an American living in Amsterdam with her husband Thomas, the CEO and heir to a legendary diamond house and their small, medically challenged son. The two women have nothing in common, until they are thrown together after handsome, wealthy Xander, a Prins company employee, is murdered in his lavish apartment while Reyna, on a first date with him, sleeps soundly in his bed. The murderer emptied his safe, making off with a large stash of diamonds worth a fortune. Reyna knows no one in Amsterdam except her roommate Ingrid whom she has just met, but is suspected of Xander’s murder and the diamond heist. Willow knows she is innocent, but has her own reasons for wanting to befriend and watch Reyna, rather than coming to her defense. This fascinating mystery unfolds through the eyes of these two women, who are dragged into the depths of the diamond business in Amsterdam, including its underworld complications and the intriguing relationships among the not-always-honorable Prins family members.–Patricia Diekmann
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Reader's Comment
Terrance -
Great shout-out from you calling attention to Lucille Ball’s hometown (and final resting place), Jamestown NY. For those of us originally from there who have witnessed the horrible shrinkage and demise of a once vibrant manufacturing hub, it’s reassuring to know that not everything is lost and forgotten.
Thank you. Sam Morgante
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