A young woman in 1930s Los Angeles is surprised by a visit from a man claiming to be her father, and journeys to Europe with him to solve an old mystery and heal a long-broken heart. Boyd evokes the time and place of the action -- much of it told in flashback -- well, but the biggest leap he asks to reader to make is believing the long-lost daughter would uproot her life and go with this man on the scanty information she has. The meat of the story takes place in the Philippines shortly after the Spanish American War, and is certainly the most intriguing section. Boyd winds it up with a near-anticlimax but leaves a few plot threads dangling -- which is all right. Certainly the daughter doesn't believe everything her father has told her about the events of those days, nor does she believe everything her father apparently believes about his long lost love.
A novel whose characters travel from LA to NY to Lisbon in a tale that is part romance, part mystery. Boyd is a skilled storyteller, beginning first with an introduction to a struggling architect, Kay Fischer, who is approaced by a mysterious yet charming man, Salvatore Carriscant, who claims to be her father. The story shifts back in time as Carriscant begins to reveal his past to a sceptic Kay. It is here we learn of the great love that deeply underscored his life, a romance that blossomed amid an every growing murder mystery. A story of love, loss, and redemption with a very satisfying, but mysterious ending.
