Recommendation for good read on my flight to Paris?

[Heidi]

I'm starting to download books into my iPad for my recreational reading during my 6+ weeks of travel but I don't like reading from my iPad during travel days. When you're traveling solo, it becomes a challenge to always keep it securely tucked away or to always take it with you when using the WC on the flight...

I would prefer a gripping tale of fiction, set in Paris. Or maybe just a compelling read set anywhere, if it's outstanding. I would also prefer it not be newly published, as it may not be out in paperback yet. My reading tastes are fairly eclectic..... Any ideas?

 

[Roz]

Heidi, two mysteries set in Paris that I enjoyed recently are The Paris Directive by Gerald Jay and Mission to Paris by Alan Furst. Both of those are in paper, and if you have time, you can get used copies from Amazon for 1 cent plus $3.99 shipping. I buy a lot of paperbacks that way. But note also that the Furst book right now is available for Kindle for only $1.99.

Another one I just remembered was Stealing Mona Lisa by Carson Morton.

A lot of people like the Cara Black mysteries, but they really don't appeal to me.

 

[Chris]

The Hugo Marston mysteries by Mark Pryor are also good and full of Paris atmosphere. I especially liked The Bookseller, about the murder of one of the booksellers with a stall along the Seine.

 

[Heidi]

Wow, great! Thanks Chris and Roz! I'll check-out your recommendations. I've read most of Alan Furst's novels but must have missed Mission to Paris. I've been reading so many memoirs lately, I'm ready for a little fiction & a good murder mystery is my cup of tea.

Last year I borrowed a book from my Paris rental that was complex, depressing, quirky and not at all what I expected; Douglas Kennedy's The Woman in the Fifth, for which he received the French decoration of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

A few months ago I read, The President's Hat, which has a playful layer of whimsy. And, I've just discovered, it has it's own web page, with a repetitive bit of music.... A friend of mine is passing it around our book group as a must read, feel good book.

 

[Chris]

I'd forgotten about The Woman in the Fifth. I really enjoyed that one too! I'll take a look at The President's Hat.