The Paris Secret by Karen Swan

An apartment hidden for 73 years and forbidden by the owner to be known to anyone, but why?

The children didn't even know about it until the apartment was broken into.

Once the apartment was revealed to the children, in comes Flora and Angus, well-known art dealers and auctioneers.  And what a find in that apartment closed for 73 years...famous paintings, artifacts, and the home left as it had been when the family lived there.

Flora was in her domain and in her glory over this, but some things didn't seem right with the Vermeil family - the children were obnoxious, and their parents seemed excited but a bit disinterested in the apartment and its contents.  Something else must be behind all of this.

We follow Flora as she investigates the contents of the apartment and the path of sales of the Renoir from the painter to each seller.  She came to a standstill when she found out that a dealer who dealt with the Nazis was the last recorded owner of the Renoir.  If that was where it ended, no one would want the painting.   Then when Flora went to Vienna to meet someone who had the companion painting to the Renoir, another surprise awaited her.

Mystery, intrigue, and deceit abound in THE PARIS SECRET.

I truly  enjoyed THE PARIS SECRET.  It was a bit of mystery mixed in with history.  I was impressed at how much  research goes into checking the authenticity of paintings. It actually was quite fascinating along with the excitement of recognizing the names of famous painters.

This was my first book by Karen Swan and am sorry I have never read anything else by her.  The story line is interesting, the writing is marvelous and very descriptive.

If you love Paris, drama, art, finding treasures in old buildings, and a bit of romance, THE PARIS SECRET won't disappoint.  

The secret revealed in the ending pages was excellent. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.