Historical suspense set in Victorian Paris. The novel has a good political backdrop of war between England and Russia looming large. As with most suspense novels, this one too has enough characters to keep one guessing who the culprit is. In a way, the author has taken a simple jealous-lover vein and used the political situation as a wrapping to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable page-turner. I think the characters Clary, the pertinacious art student and Resse, the charming spy are portrayed, in anticipation of a sequel. However, Quillan, with his self-deprecating humor is endearing( happens to be author's fav too!). A-R-S-E-N-I-C seems to be the favorite sauce of deathly potions of Victorian era :). ( )

A Victorian mystery set in France centering on the artist’s community of the day. Mention of some of the famous artists of the day such as Sargent, Renoir and Monet, their influence and passion. This is when the content and style of painting was being challenged, a time when women were property and under family restraints of behavior. This is also time when there was political debate and war concerns between Russia and England. Taking these as themes the author has woven a mystery of murder and political intrigue and romance. ( )

Dee Garretson captures Paris in 1878 with beautiful descriptions and enchanting dialog that makes me want to see if it really was how she said it was. In The Gargoyle in the Seine, you witness not only the beauty of Paris but also the darkness that lingers in plain sight.

Clary Ashton is great main character with all of her spitfire qualities that linger in the back of your mind once you're done reading about her. She is stubborn and creative, a great mixture when it comes to reading about a book's main character. From the beginning of the book, she captures your interest and if anything, you read to see what happens to her.

All the characters, good and bad, are interestingly portrayed and you will find yourself cheering for people that you hated in the beginning. Well, maybe not hate but dislike a lot. Also in the end, you will find yourself questioning if your first opinions of characters you liked were really all that true. You learn to question the motives of everyone throughout the novel because no one is beyond betrayal.

I am not ashamed to admit that I love historical fiction, mostly because of the way the clothes are captured in the writer's mind and the way the characters speak. There is a certain amount of familiarity and difference between then and now that has always intrigued me. Dee Garretson definitely did not fall short when it came to breathing life into her version of Paris and yet, she still maintains a certain amount of today's language in the narrative to be helpful to readers.

I really liked this book and I plan on reading it again. If you like historical fiction, then you will like this. ( )