Dianne (gardngal) reviewed on 6/20/2009 + 271 more book reviews

As promised, this book followed the story of Alexander and Perdita in the years that follow their initial romance in The Vanished Child. It picks up in Paris three years later in 1910, the year of an historic flood. She is studying the piano and he is running a clinic and lab. The plot itself seemed weak to me. They investigate an alleged forgery of a famous painter's canvases, are being pursued by a deranged man, and try to decide if she is of a proper class to marry him.

There are subplots as well, the most notable being early feminism, in which a woman of that era was not able to have a career if she wanted to marry and have a family, and how they managed to do what they loved anyway. The first three quarters of the book were slow and a little boring. However, the last quarter of the book picked up and started to tie all the loose threads together. The author did extensive research about the flood, personally spending three weeks in Paris, and it is evident in the details of the narration. It was a good follow up to the first book if you want to know what happened to the two lovers. D.

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