Unlike many of Kennedy’s previous novels this one is narrated by a man. Harry is an American whose past has caught up with him irrevocably and he decides to jump ship to a shadowy, sinister Paris, where nothing is exactly as it seems. It’s a novel that is guaranteed to keep you turning the pages well into the night. An eerie and unsettling tale of exile and revenge and the murky frontier between the imagined and the terrifyingly real is incredibly haunting. It’s an utterly absorbing novel so be sure to set aside some quality time to enjoy this gripping and intelligent read.
Harry Ricks is a man who has lost everything. A romantic mistake at the small American college where he used to teach has cost him his job and his marriage. And when the ensuing scandal threatens to completely destroy him, he flees to Paris. He arrives in the French captial in the bleak midwinter, and ends up having to work as a night guard to make ends meet. Then Margit, a beautiful, mysterious stranger, walks into his life. But their passionate and intense relationship triggers a string of inexplicable events, and soon Harry finds himself in a nightmare from which there is no easy escape.
