Floats the Dark Shadow (Book) - 1/18/2013 3:53:46 AM
"Floats the Dark Shadow" by Yves Fey is a very skilful and impressive historic novel, set in Paris. It is clearly well researched and gives a very authentic feel of the city ( I have been) - not just in terms of architecture and clothes but in every aspect of the epoch: politics, transport, police work etc etc. The book describes the place and time very much like I would imagine them to have been and it certainly managed to raise my awareness of the times and its living conditions.
Thrown into the plot of a murder investigation are themes like occultism, tarot cards and black magic, discussions of the Oscar Wilde trial and most pressing for the female lead character, Theo, that of personal trust and belief.
There are a few dark themes, like that of the serial child murder, that of course belong into the times and the context of a crime story, but which I found a little disturbing. I still did enjoy the book, there was tension all the way through to the end
