This excellent historical mystery by Kate Furnivall starts just before Christmas 1933 in France. Gilles Malroux is sitting in the Paris-Strasbourg train, where he is following someone with a suitcase he is interested in. All of the sudden, the train crashes in another train. In the mayhem that follows, Gilles swaps wallets with another man he rescued and he is himself rescued by a woman. Camille, Gille’s sister, alerted about her brother’s situation, starts looking for him. And that’s when she goes from one discovery to another about what her brother had been up to.
The train crash is a real historical event, one of the worst train crashes in history in France, which claimed the lives of 204 people and injured 129 people. Kate Furnivall’s talented writing brings this terrible event to life. In Camille’s search for her brother, we also plunge into the atmosphere of Paris and learn about Egyptian artefacts. All of it making this story a real page turner.
I loved the characters of Gilles and Camille and their very special connection, rooted in their difficult childhood. The story is also full of interesting mysterious and dodgy characters. From a fully bandaged man to a politician, a museum curator, a bunch of grim contract killers and criminals, it is a very diverse, interesting and puzzling cast.
I really enjoyed this book and the originality of the start point. I love the writing and the rhythm of the story. A great book!
You can learn more about the events of the train crash here and get a sense of the magnitude of the crash here.
Valerie is reading 
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