Lost in Paris

December 1, 2022

The author of the Lena Jones mysteries begins a historical mystery series featuring members of the Lost Generation in post-World War I Paris. In December, 1922, Hadley Hemingway left a valise filled with Ernest's manuscripts on a train, and someone stole it. Although Alabama-born artist Zoe Barlow dislikes Ernest, Hadley is a friend, so Zoe attempts to find the case. She asks enough questions at the train station to track the thief to a village, and hires an Armenian driver to take her there. Although she finds the shack with two Russians in it, they've been shot dead, and some of Hemingway's pages are burning in the fireplace. After being questioned by Inspector Henri Challiot, Zoe becomes even more popular with her inquisitive friends in the artist community. Now, she's determined to find the rest of the author's papers, but also wants to find a killer. When several of Zoe's friends are killed, and she finds the bodies, Challiot warns her that she's become a target. VERDICT The compelling story, filled with actual artists, models and writers, will appeal to readers who enjoy fact-based mysteries involving history, racism, and conditions in post-war Paris.--Lesa Holstine

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January 9, 2023
Set in 1922, this capable series launch from Webb (the Lena Jones mysteries) introduces painter Zoe Barlow, who moved to France four years earlier after her family banished her from their Alabama estate for her scandalous behavior. Zoe’s friendships among the Paris avant-garde, among them Ernest and Hadley Hemingway, substitute for the family she’s lost. When she hears that Hadley lost a suitcase containing Ernest’s manuscript drafts in a Paris railway station, Zoe mounts a search. She learns that the valise was stolen by porter Vassily Popov, an impoverished Russian immigrant living in a tiny village outside Paris. She arrives at Popov’s hut only to find him and the young woman he says is his daughter—who may be Anastasia Romanov, daughter of the murdered Russian czar—shot to death. Zoe clashes with handsome Det. Insp. Henri Chaillot, whose suspicions of her reawaken a few days later when she discovers the bodies of two of her friends shot with the same gun used in the earlier crime. Zoe’s intriguing backstory and Webb’s inventive use of incidents such as Hemingway’s lost valise and Anastasia’s rumored survival more than compensate for the forgettable sleuthing. Lovers of post-WWI Paris will have fun. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary.

February 15, 2023
Webb dramatically changes direction here, moving from her contemporary series starring Scottsdale PI Lena Jones to Lost Generation Paris. In 1922, Zoe Barlow, former Alabama debutante, is in the City of Light nursing psychic scars--love affair gone wrong, parents giving her the boot--while trying to paint and supporting herself with a modest stipend from home and her substantial poker winnings. One of her best pals--and she knows everybody who ever put pen to paper or brush to canvas on the Left Bank--is Hadley Hemingway, so naturally Zoe shares her friend's pain when Hadley loses a valise containing all of Ernest's writings. This infamous event in literary history becomes the novel's MacGuffin, as Zoe careens about searching for the manuscripts but finding dead bodies instead. Naturally, her snooping quickly makes her a person of interest to the killer. The plot is really just an excuse for Zoe to bump into still more notables, from Man Ray to Mary Cassatt, but it's perfectly frothy fun, supported by a wealth of tasty historical tidbits, like the Trousers March protesting the French ban against women wearing pants.

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March 1, 2023
In 1922, Paris is packed with wounded soldiers whose lives have been destroyed by the war, artists of all stripes, and expatriates hiding dangerous secrets. American artist Zoe Barlow is an excellent poker player who uses her skills to augment the allowance she receives from her family to stay out of Alabama. Her friends range from aristocrats to literally starving artists, and they include Hadley Hemingway, the writer's wife, who leads her into a dangerous adventure. Although no fan of Ernest's, Zoe is determined to help Hadley when some manuscripts her husband left in her care are stolen from a train. When she goes to the Gare de Lyon for information, a Russian expatriate porter--after she slips him 50 francs--tells her the valise was stolen by a man named Vassily Popov, who lives in the small town of Le Mesnil-Th�ribus with his "daughter," possibly the fabled Anastasia Romanov. Zoe hires Avak Grigoryan and his vehicle, the Grim Reaper, to take her to the village, where she finds the murdered bodies of the unfortunate pair and burns her hands raking some of Hemingway's papers from the fireplace. Zoe takes an immediate dislike to the investigator--handsome, supercilious, and rude DI Henri Challiot--but still ends up in a sexual relationship with him. The next to die are dancer Jewel Johnson, another of her friends, and Jewel's lover, a Russian count. Despite dire warnings from Challiot, Zoe is more determined than ever to investigate. As much as it distresses her, she realizes that the killer is very likely one of her circle of friends. A maelstrom of a mystery that combines grit, determination, and tragedy with social commentary.

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