The Empress of Tempera by Alex Dolan

The Empress of Tempera.  Alex Dolan.  Diversion Publishing. September 2016. 282 pp. ISBN#: 9781682302972.  

Katie Novis legally changes her name to Paire Anjou because her family’s name is notorious for a horrible criminal event.  She’s very artistic and bohemian in taste and thinks her life in New York as a new artist is bound to be new and refreshingly clean of nefarious doings.  Her life with her boyfriend Derek Rosewood is exciting as he is a graffiti-guerrilla style artist who wants to both shock viewers and awaken them to social consciousness about troubling issues.  There’s an element of crime in the way he places his paintings but nothing that causes harm to anyone.  That’s all about to change for this young, vibrant couple.

Paire is unfortunate enough to observe a man staring into a storefront window of Fern Gallery.  She is entranced when looking at the painting the man is staring at so intensely he doesn’t even notice her presence.  But all of a sudden, before she can do anything about it, this man quickly dies.  The turmoil that follows is almost sidelined by shock and Paire’s realization that this painting is so intense as to enchant the viewer to obsessive looking. 

This is the story then of “The Empress Xiao Zhe Yi, Seated” by a Chinese artist Qi.  It turns out this is the one remaining painting from his entire life that is being shown for the first time.  The woman in the painting actually is supposed to represent a real woman, but the reader will discover her real story, a tale of bribery, greed and obsession that pulls in a financier, a gallery owner and his lover, Paire and Derek, and the artist’s sculptor daughter.

Although the characters are rather stereotypical, the reactions of viewers to this painting are both exaggerated and yet mesmerizing in their intensity.  One wonders how viewers could faint or become so enamored of this woman that it elicits their most lustful feelings?  Deny it but admit it’s temporarily mesmerizing!  One wonders if this is how some viewers saw “The Mona Lisa” when it was first displayed to the public? 

The plot will progress to attempts of theft and the effects will be disastrous for several characters.  Paire discovers that she is not so different from her family, a background that is also gradually revealed, and that her lover’s innocent acts shock even him into realizing how art reflects life’s most noble but also baser passionate aspects.

The Empress of Tempera is a great read that will move a large, wide audience and rightfully so!  Nicely crafted, Alex Dolan!

The Paris Librarian: A Hugo Marston Novel by Mark Pryor

The Paris Librarian: A Hugo Marston Novel. Mark Pryor. Prometheus Books Seventh Street Books. August 2016. 270 pp.  ISBN#: 9781633881778.

Hugo Marston is a book collector of first editions but also a security officer at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France.  His friend, Paul Rogers, calls Hugo to tell him about a signed first edition of a Truman Capote novel.  Imagine Hugo’s shock when he proceeds to the American Library in Paris to find Paul Rogers dead in a locked room.  While there is an ongoing investigation there’s much annoyance from other library personnel as it seems obvious that Paul finally succumbed to his heart condition.  But Hugo’s innate sensitivity believes there’s more than meets the eye and the rest of the novel follows his instincts and investigation, once again displaying Hugo’s skills and talent as a former FBI profiler.

The story turns to a mysterious case of the actress Isabelle Severin who wrote letters during WWII.  Some of those letters are public and some are private but the fascinating part of this mystery lies in the fact that she might have been part of the Resistance movement during WWII and might have even murdered an SS Officer with a dagger.  So why is that such a secret and who would want the contents of the letters to disappear?  And what does that have to do with the death of Paul Rogers?

The story isn’t that complex but reading how Hugo Marston again (this is the sixth novel in this series) intelligently explores the facts and rumors behind Paul’s demise.  He always displays a remarkable calmness even as he gets closer and closer to the killer and the story behind the murder.

Mark Pryor excels at good old-fashioned mystery storytelling, gradually leading the reader from simple scenes into intriguing clues all the way to a very satisfying conclusion.  Part of that success lies in careful characterization of Hugo and other supportive and opposing characters in the story.  All in all, a riveting and intriguing international mystery sure to please mystery and thriller fans and those new to the genre.  Nicely done, Mark Pryor!