![]() Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Nearly all the characters appear to be the white default.Ī useful, even soothing choice for children undergoing a common transition.Īn aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects. Juliet is a likable-enough character, and her narrative voice mostly rings true as she alternately rages against her new situation and competently navigates it, assisted a great deal by extremely nice Emma and her remarkably pleasant family (whose mostly smooth road contrasts poignantly with Juliet’s new bumpy one) and by her older sister’s kind and calming advice. Advice for children experiencing a divorce comes thick and steady, making this a useful purchase for that group, if they are willing to overlook the rather slight storyline. Someone-using the signature “Some Kid at the Beach”-responds to Juliet’s message, challenging Juliet to try to make a wish come true for someone, both setting up a minor mystery and leading to a small, touching subplot. Together, the girls cast bottles with messages into the sea. The 11-year-old is immediately befriended by same-aged Emma, whose family lives near the beach and runs an ice cream shop. ![]() She doesn’t love that she and her older sister, Miranda, have had to move away from Bakersfield to a beachfront San Diego cottage because her parents are divorcing. A sure thing for art lovers, Francophiles, and readers who enjoy their mysteries with a glass of fine wine.Juliet loves glitter, painting, cookie-dough ice cream, Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and writing lists. “A clever mystery that weaves art and murder into a rich, colorful tapestry set against the backdrop of the real-life controversy surrounding the death of Vincent van Gogh. Schwartz, author of The Last Voice You Hear Expertly exploring the mystery of Van Gogh’s death, the authors serve us French food and wine along the very enjoyable way.” ![]() The plot is tight, the subject engaging, and the characters suitably attractive, villainous, and occasionally sexy. “The best novel yet in an already strong series. Longworth, author of The Mystery of the Lost Cézanne Draine and Hinden’s eccentric and amiable characters (one of whom happens to be a murderer) gather together to share delicious meals, amble through medieval villages, and argue about van Gogh’s art, life, and mysterious death in this charming whodunit.” “A thoroughly engaging romp set in the olive groves above the French Riviera. ![]() Mystery devotees who want an atmospheric crime novel with an art history slant such as Iain Pears’s ‘Jonathan Argyll’ books will enjoy this series.” “Making their third sleuthing appearance (after The Body in Bodega Bay), Nora and Toby are utterly delightful. “Into the mix of personalities, the authors weave in tantalizing snippets of letters written by Isabelle’s grandfather about his acquaintance with the extremely moody and vulnerable Van Gogh in 1890. Long ago, Michael worked a summer as a waiter in Saint-Paul-de-Vence and fell in love with the village. They are professors emeriti of EnglishĪt the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They also coauthored the memoir A Castle in the Backyard: The Dream of a House in France and translated The Walnut Cookbook by Jean-Luc Toussaint. But someone wants to stop Nora and Toby’sĪmateur sleuthing, and what happens next is no joke.Īre coauthors of the mysteries Murder in Lascaux and The Body in Bodega Bay, the first two novels featuring Nora Barnes and Toby Sandler. ![]() Quirky conference members, one by one, fall under police suspicion and theĪmused gaze of Nora’s husband, Toby Sandler. But on the night before the conference, an elderly French woman who’d promised to reveal important evidence is found face down in the village fountain, and her Chanel briefcase is nowhere to be seen.ĭuring a week of academic squabbling, dining, romance, and suspense, the When art historian Nora Barnes returns to France for a Van Gogh conference in the charming medieval village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, she’s expecting a vigorous debate about whether the famed artist’s suicide was actually a homicide. Who shot Vincent van Gogh? And who would kill to know it? Honorable Mention, Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award, Council for Wisconsin Writers ![]()
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