CITY OF DARKNESS AND LIGHT

Paris in the spring: delightful but for the little matter of murder.

Former private detective Molly Murphy is quietly raising her young son, Liam, while Daniel, her police detective husband, goes about his daily routine in New York City. Their peaceful life comes to an end when their house is blown up and their servant killed, probably by the Cosa Nostra. With no home and Daniel’s mother away on a trip, the decision is made to send Molly and Liam out of harm’s way by visiting wealthy bohemian friends Gus and Sid, who have gone to Paris to further Gus’ painting career. A short stay with a New York society matron replenishes Molly’s wardrobe, and after a trip marred by seasickness, Molly arrives at her friends' atelier near Montmartre only to find them gone. Since the rent is paid, the suspicious landlady allows Molly to use the apartment while she searches for her friends. Both Sid, who is Jewish, and Gus, who is from a society family, mentioned in a letter that they had met with cousins, both artists, and Molly determines to find them. She also plans a visit to Reynold Bryce, a famous member of the Boston School who has lived in Paris for 18 years and taken up impressionism. Unfortunately, Bryce, an anti-Semite in a country riven by the Dreyfus Affair, has been stabbed to death, possibly by a young Jewish man. Mysterious postcards finally lead Molly to the home of Mary Cassatt, where her friends are in hiding due to the fact that Sid visited Bryce on the day of his death. Also, considering her short hair and habit of wearing pants, Molly fears she may have been mistaken for the killer. While her friends spoil Liam, Molly visits the salon of Gertrude Stein and the hovels of impoverished artists in her attempt to clear her friend's name.

Molly’s adventures (The Family Way, 2013, etc.) never disappoint, even when a vacation in Paris embroils her in murder.