Masquerade (signed & dated)

Jane and Phil unwittingly uncover a murderous plot in 1923 Paris and must try to investigate the death of rich American publisher Richard Forsythe without arousing the dangerous ire of his German mistress Sabine

Parallel stories told in the distinct voices of Jane Turner and Phil Beaumont (last seen together in Escapade) merge in this witty and beguiling mystery set in 1923 Paris. American expatriate Richard Forsythe, acknowledged dilettante and wastrel, is found dead in his hotel room with his German mistress, Sabine von Stuben. The police have ruled the deaths a double suicide, and the case is officially closed. But Richard's determined mother has hired the Pinkertons to delve into it, and Jane, a British operative who is placed undercover as governess to a different branch of the Forsythe family, gleans invaluable details from Richard's 18-year-old cousinAwho is quite smitten with her. Her wry and perceptive observations are penned to a British friend. Phil, a shrewdly observant American, narrates his side of the story in a straight first-person voice. A Pinkerton who can work equally well with corrupt Parisian police, smug aristocrats, violent drug dealers or his gourmand French counterpart, Phil produces information that definitely suggests that Richard Forsythe was murdered. The book is wonderfully rich in detail and atmosphere, offering riveting scenes in sewers and salons, as well as over-the-top cameos by Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Best of all, when Phil and Jane finally cross paths, they provide some electrifying moments. This deftly told mystery, a delightful mix of high society and the demimonde, offers readers a terrific imaginary junket.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The official verdict on poet/publisher Richard Forsythe and his latest amoureuse, Sabine von Stuben, is that their deaths were the result of a suicide pact in their bolted Paris hotel room. But Richard's mother back in the States doesn't believe the official verdictshe's especially suspicious of the shooting of the hotel desk clerk soon afterwardand she hires the Pinkerton Agency to find out the truth. The Pinkertons, who don't do things by halves, send two operatives, experienced investigator Phil Beaumont, who'll read through police transcripts and question the witnesses, and novice Jane Turner, who'll travel incognito as nanny to Richard's cousins; but the company doesnt tell either one about the other. Since Phil and Jane have already met under other circumstances (Escapade, 1995), various complications ensue. The lazy if high-spirited detective work, however, is constantly upstaged by the cast of dragonish suspectsfrom Richard's man-eating widow to Sabine's former lover to an Agatha Christie look-alike who's been funneling donations to the infant Nazisand a nonstop parade of period cameos that include Ernest (``call me Ernie'') Hemingway (a skirt-chasing poseur), Gertrude Stein (olympian in her vanity), James Joyce, Erik Satie, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, Kay Boyle, Robert McAlmon, and some terrific French meals. A decorative, dizzying triflethe locked-room murder is solved with insulting casualnessthats chock-full of the stuff that made the Twenties roar. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Pinkerton operatives Phil Beaumont and Jane Turner (Escapade, St. Martin's, 1995) search for the truth behind the supposed suicides of a rich American publisher and his German mistress in 1923 Paris. A welcome escape to an exciting time and place.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.