Book: The Magnolia Palace

 Book: The Magnolia Palace

Author: Fiona Davis

Pages: 349

This is my 153rd read for the year

What Amazon Says:

8 months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21 year old Lilian Carter's life has completely fallen apart.  For the past 6 years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in NYC with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge.  But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate - the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven.  So when she stumbles upon an emplyment opportunity at the Frick mansion - a building that, ironically, bears her own visage - Lillian jumps at the chance.  But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family - pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the states just may be life or death.  

Nearly 50 years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career-and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home - within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of NYC's most impressive museums.  But when she- along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua - is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica's financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick Family.

This was a pretty good book.  I have read quite a few of Davis' books and find her a pretty good writer.  I liked the dual timeline books, and glad I read this one.  Unfortunately, I am writing this review quite a bit after I read it, and am blanking on more details to pick out.

Stars: 4