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by Michelle Wan
In the Orchid Shroud by Michelle Wan, two murders committed over a
century apart in the Dordogne draw amateur sleuths Mara Dunn and Julian
Wood into the dark history of a prominent family in this sequel to her
debut novel, DEADLY SLIPPER.
Wan weaves another tale abounding in mystery and orchids as French
Canadian interior decorator Mara Dunn and orchidologist Julian Wood team up to solve two murders: one dating back to the 1870s; the other occurring almost right before their eyes.
In brief, Mara is renovating the manor house of Julian’s friend, the
wealthy and socially prominent Christophe de Bonfond, when she
discovers the body of a murdered infant. The body, concealed for more
than a century wrapped in a shawl, brings to light unexpected and
critical information on an elusive Lady’s Slipper orchid that Julian
avidly seeks.
Christophe hires genealogist Jean-Claude Fournier to
exonerate his ancestors of infanticide, only to have the expert unleash
even more terrifying suspicions about who the de Bonfonds really were
and their possible links with the mystery orchid. When violent death
strikes in the present day, Mara and Julian begin an investigation of
their own that leads them to uncover a trail of murder spanning many
decades. As they unearth a past filled with hatred, greed, and
treacherous manipulations, they must also unmask a present-day
killer’s before they become the next victims.
One of Wan’s strengths as a novelist is the tension and conflict
created by the differing agendas of each of the characters. This pulled
me into the plot...I just had to know what would happen next. Mara
never has it easy either with her fractious clients or in her
relationship with Julien that seems to be going nowhere. And Julien
battles in the ongoing struggle to prove the Lady’s Slipper, a rare
species of orchid, existed and still exists today.
Wan nails the details, the ambiance few know unless they’ve been
lucky
enough to visit the Dordogne and enjoyed the specialties of the region;
foie gras and trufflles. She paints the quirky larger than life
characters with a sure touch especially Marie-Sylvette;”If France ever held a contest for Most Glamorous Boulangère,
Marie-Sylvette of the Boulangerie Méliès, would have won hands down.
She was an imposing figure in her fifties who wore her hair swept up at
the sides in two silver wings. She had a neat chin, full lips, dark,
lustrous eyes, and exquisitely plucked eyebrows that expressed with the
slightest twitch an impressive range of emotions. Her bosom thrust like
a ship’s prow beyond a tightly controlled tummy, for she never
appeared
without a girdle, and th whole of her moved grandly about on slim legs
that ended in small feet shod in smart mid-heeled shoes.
Now pull out that paté you’ve been saving, pour yourself a nice
glass
of Bordeaux, prop Orchid Shroud on your lap, sit back and go to the Dordogne.
Cara Black is the creator of the Aimée Leduc investigation series.
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