Falling in Louvre by Fiona Leitch
Falling in Louvre by Fiona Leitch
'A heartfelt, funny and romantic caper - a mashup masterpiece!' - Sandy Barker, author of 'That Night in Paris'.
Bertrand is King of the Pigeons…
Unofficially. From his perch atop a gargoyle on Notre Dame cathedral, he surveys his kingdom. He sees Sylvie Cloutier, art lover and ex-antiques dealer, making dinner for her bullying husband Henri, trapped in their loveless marriage like a bird in a gilded cage. He sees security guard, hopeless romantic and bookworm Philippe Moreau cycling through the streets of Paris in his crumpled uniform, late (again) for his night shift at the museum.
When Sylvie begs her husband to let her go to work, he gets her a job as an evening cleaner at the Louvre. He thinks such a menial position will dispel any ideas about independence she might have, but his plan backfires when she falls in love with kind, gentle Philippe. They decide to run away together, but there’s a major problem: neither of them has any money.
One stormy night in the Louvre, the answer to their prayers falls into their lap… But is it really the solution, or just another, even bigger problem?
What follows is a romantic, wistful but madcap adventure through (and under) the city of lights, involving a stolen painting, an art heist in reverse, and Eric Cantona. Will love find a way?
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| Falling in Louvre by Fiona Leitch |
My review
Never underestimate the power an out of hours cleaning job can give.
Bullied by her controlling husband, Sylvie knows she isn’t happy, but has no idea how much she needs to escape, until an unexpected taste of freedom and independence, gives her the clarity she has been missing for the last few years. Henri and his actions are deplorable, but despite the sensitive and emotive subject, this book is very funny. From the pigeons above the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur, to the sewer tunnels beneath the famous streets, to the quiet galleries of the Louvre at night, this book swept me off on a wonderfully different adventure in Paris, alongside a cast of misfit characters, all who had their part to play in this humorous love story.
The scrapes and situations Philippe and Sylvie find themselves in as they try to find a way to be together, are brilliantly written. The twists and turns of the plot, combined with the witty writing style and the love and friendship that held everything together, left me with a huge grin on my face.
I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be such an entertaining and humorous read, but it proved to be just what I needed to balance the woes of the pandemic.
If you are looking for a funny escape that is refreshingly different, I suggest picking up a copy of Falling in Louvre. I’ve not read any previous books by Fiona, but I’ll certainly be adding her cosy mysteries to my reading lists from now on.
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Fiona Leitch
Author Bio
Fiona Leitch is a writer with a chequered past. She's written for football and motoring magazines, DJ'ed at illegal raves and is a stalwart of the low budget TV commercial, even appearing as the Australasian face of a cleaning product called 'Sod Off'. After living in London and Cornwall she's finally settled in sunny New Zealand, where she enjoys scaring her cats by trying out dialogue on them. She spends her days dreaming of retiring to a crumbling Venetian palazzo, walking on the windswept beaches of West Auckland, and writing funny, flawed but awesome female characters. Her debut novel, ‘Dead in Venice’, was published by Audible as one of their Crime Grant scheme finalists, and her bestselling cosy mystery series, The Nosey Parker Mysteries, is published by One More Chapter/HarperCollins.
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| Falling in Louvre by Fiona Leitch |
