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Book Review
Reviewed: 27 April 2024

Clock Struck Murder

by: Betty Webb

Lost in Paris - Book 2

  • Rating: full starfull starstar outlinestar outlinestar outline (2/5)

Is there ever a point where there is too much going on in a story? I didn’t think so until this book.

The story is set in 1920s Paris and expat Zoe gets involved in solving the murder of vendor to the chagrin of her inspector boyfriend. 

There was soooooo much going on in this story that I didn’t think all fit or was needed. It was a who’s who that was distracting from solving the murder. 

I lost track of who was doing what and found I didn’t care. There was a subplot with Zoe’s boyfriend’s wife (not a secret and it was explained) that was really putting me off - not the relationship itself.

I figured out who did it and why way early in the story but continued on anyway.

Given this is the second book in the series, wondered what the backstory was in the first book given how MUCH was given in this one.

The narrator was great with all of the different accents and pacing.  The story just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley  for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story. 

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 9-April-2024
Audiobook, Historical Mystery, NetGalley

Plot Summary

One woman's trash is another woman's--lost Chagall masterpiece?!?

Expat Zoe Barlow has settled well into her artist's life among the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris. When a too-tipsy guest at her weekly poker game breaks Zoe's favorite clock, she's off to a Montparnasse flea market to bargain with the vendor Laurette for a replacement. What Zoe didn't bargain for was the lost Chagall painting that's been used like a rag to wrap her purchases! Eager to learn whether Laurette has more Chagalls lying about like trash, Zoe sets off to track her down at her storage shed. With no Laurette in sight, Zoe snoops around and indeed finds several additional Chagalls―and then she finds Laurette herself, dead beneath a scrap heap, her beautiful face bashed in.

With Paris hosting the 1924 Summer Olympics, the police are far too busy with tourist-related crimes to devote much time to the clock seller's murder. After returning the paintings to a grateful Marc Chagall, Zoe begins her own investigation. Did the stolen paintings play any part in the brutal killing? Or was it a crime of passion? Zoe soon discovers that there were many people who had reason to resent the lovely Laurette. But who hated the girl enough to stop her clock permanently? When Zoe discovers a second murder victim, the pressure is on to find the killer before time―and luck―run out.