THE LAST HEARTBEAT IS ETERNAL

Two teens meet in a Viennese museum, reconnect years later, and share a secret on-again, off-again love affair in Mahdavi’s intercontinental thriller.

The novel opens with a bullet fired from a sniper’s gun, then flashes back several decades: In 1960s Austria, precocious 13-year-old Rachel leaves her school group at the Vienna Kunsthistorisches museum to talk to 18-year-old Cyrus about a painting. Cyrus, a surrealistic painter, is a student of the world. Although his parents are American, he was born in Mexico, raised in Spain, and schooled in Austria. Rachel and Cyrus run into each other years later in New York. They become secret lovers, parted by her arranged marriage in Vienna. Later still, after Cyrus moves to Paris, she comes into the bar where he works when not painting. They resume their relationship, but Cyrus questions things she says, as she can “weave the real and the lies into a choking yet smooth reality.” But there are questions about Cyrus, too. His boss calls him a nowhere man, saying, “Like quicksilver, you can’t be pinned down. How many passports you got anyway?” In a world of international intrigue, expert assassins, and moving targets, better questions might be: Who is the killer, and who is the victim? Rachel’s secrets come home to roost in a haunting, violent ending that provides the answers. The author’s prose can be lyrical, as when Cyrus says of the time he spent with Rachel in New York, “All my other times of sadness after that year were measured against the happiness of that year.” Descriptions of paintings, a signature perfume, and the like are sensual. The narrative’s pacing works well at the start and end of the book but tends to drag in the second half, as conversation overtakes the action. Mahdavi’s experience as an artist living in Europe who holds several passports adds authenticity to the characters and settings.

Passion, art, assassins… Mahdavi’s tale has something for everyone.