Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice: N/A

by Ellery Lloyd – Many thanks to @harperbooks for the gifted print copy of this truly outstanding mystery. Below is my honest review.

Central to this narrative is the enigmatic artist Juliette Willoughby, a 1930s artist whose life was tragically cut short in a fire that consumed all her known work, including the controversial masterpiece, ‘Self-Portrait of Sphinx.’ This captivating and contentious artwork was only exhibited once at the Paris Surrealist Exhibition of 1938. Fast forward over 50 years, and we find Cambridge students Caroline and Patrick, both art history enthusiasts, working on their respective projects under the guidance of their advisor. Patrick delves into the Paris Surrealist Exhibition, while Caroline explores Sphinx imagery. Little do they know that their academic pursuits will lead them into a web of intrigue surrounding Juliette’s work, forcing them to untangle a series of murders spanning almost a century.

This book  is narrated from the viewpoints of Caroline, Patrick, and Juliette, traversing three distinct time periods (1938, 1991, and the present) and three vibrant locations (Paris, Cambridge, and Dubai). It expertly blends the essence of a classic British mystery, a modern tech-driven thriller, and a complex second-chance romance. It’s a tale of power, revenge, madness, jealousy, excess, secrets, and lies, all unfolding against three breathtaking backdrops, steeped in mythology and driven by individual obsessions. I found it impossible to tear myself away from this book. Despite its vast scope, the storytelling is seamlessly integrated, fitting together like perfect puzzle pieces, layering toward a series of deeply satisfying conclusions that tie together a complex story. It’s undoubtedly one of the best mysteries I’ve had the pleasure of reading in years.

The audiobook has three narrators who handle the complexity of the story perfectly.

What’s a book that completely blew you away?