The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis is the story of the Frick family, a wealthy family whose home was converted into a museum, and those who worked for them mainly the once famous model Angelica. Told seamlessly in a dual timeline format, Veronica, a model, and Joshua, a curator, work to solve a mystery that has plagued the Frick family for years. This well-written novel full of secrets, suspense, art, murder, and family relationships will keep you guessing until the end. A great read!

So this was my first Fiona Davis book, and I really enjoyed it. I loved the dual timeline and how they merged at the end. The mystery was interesting as was all the talk about the art. It was also interesting to me as I’m from Pittsburgh, where Henry Clay Frick made his mark, so it was fascinating to see him as he might have been when he was alive. I would definitely read another book by this author.

This story was entertaining and informative with great character development.
s. I love this aurthow work, will definitely be reading more books by her.

Thank you to Netgally the author and publisher for a copy of this ARC.
The opinions expressed are my own.

Excellent historical fiction novel. Nice detail and character development. Will appeal to readers who love books set in two time settings and who like to learn more about one of New York's treasure buildings.

Another winner from one of my favorite authors. I really enjoyed The Magnolia Palace. Fiona Davis' writing is always engrossing and her stories always original. I loved both POVs and I believe Fiona Davis is one of the best writers of dual time periods. The coming together of the time periods is always smooth and believable. One of the things I love most about historical fiction is learning something new and her books never fail to teach me something. I loved learning all about the sculptures. I highly recommend this book.

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton a digital ARC for my honest review.

I very much enjoyed reading this dual timeline historical fiction that revolves around the Frick Museum in New York City. It was interesting to learn the history of the Frick family and the how their home was donated to the City as a Museum. I also liked how she connected the two timelines of 1919 and 1966 with an uncompleted scavenger hunt. Would the Magnolia Diamond be found?

This story was entertaining and informative and I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

#NetGalley #TheMagnoliaPalace

I have read and loved all of Fiona Davis' books, and this one is no exception! She also Zoomed with our bookgroup a few years ago and was a delightful participant! We talked that time about an older book of hers, but she told us about The Lions of Fifth Avenue which had just been officially titled.

The Magnolia Palace is set in what is now the Frick Museum. In the past storyline, it is "just" a house, with the Frick family living there. A local model is escaping a bad situation at her own home, and ends up outside the mansion, mistaken for a job applicant. She makes the most of the mistake, but eventually the previous events catch up to her. In the present day (1960s or so), a photo shoot is taking place at the Museum. After an altercation, everyone except one model leaves, and she ends up trapped inside for the night. She discovers letters that seem to be hints for a hidden treasure... could it be the infamous diamond that disappeared?

I love dual timeline books, and I love how Davis weaves them together. Her books are easy to read, interesting in detail but they never get bogged down, and wrap up neatly at the end (I hate cliffhangers! LOL). I will continue to read everything she ever writes!

Thank you NetGalley for this book. All opinions are 100% mine and freely shared.

If you have read Fiona Davis before then you know you are in for a ride and it's a beautiful one at that. The story has two timelines. One is the past with the artist's model known as Angelica who is trying to make a life for herself after her mother passes away. Due to circumstances she's the personal assistant to a demanding Helen Frick. And there's the present with Vogue model from the United Kingdom, Veronica who is stranded in the Frick house with intern art curator Joshua. Their two stories collide in quite a wonderous way. I was very intrigued and I loved the rich art history that Fiona Davis brings to her books.
The majesty of this story comes from the unveiling of the story in the two timelines, seamlessly. I was often wondering how she was going to resolve it all. The end is a nice neat bow tied up, proverbially of course, but this book is the journey of a good story.
If you like historic fiction or romance or women's fiction, you will enjoy this one.

I was very disappointed in this book. The characters were unlikeable for different reasons, and I found myself unable to root for any of them. The twists in the story were quickly unraveled and didn’t seem to be well thought out or played up to their full potential. The end to the mystery was out of the blue in my opinion. It may be a story for you if you love rich families with secrets and historical fiction, but it was not for me!

What a joy to spend a few hours in the Frick mansion/museum!Fiona Davis has given us another look at the extraordinary buildings in NYC while weaving stories of characters in different periods of history, but connected through their experiences in the same location. This story, based on some historical persons and events, covers Lillian, a famous model of many sculptures in the 1920s who escapes a scandal by serendipitously working as a private secretary for Miss Helen Frick, surviving daughter of Henry Frick. Frick was fabulously wealthy and was one of those millionaires reputedly responsible for the Johnstown flood, which killed three thousand souls. I lived in Johnstown for a while so this was interesting to me. Lillian loses that job by escaping a scandal in which she’s accused not only of stealing a valuable Diamond, but also of the murder of Henry Frick. A second story brings in British model Veronica, who gets locked into the Frick Museum after a photo shoot.

Davis has given us a fascinating story with a lot of references to the art and artists in the Frick Museum. Thanks to NewGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Well researched and beautifully written, however it was a slow read for me and at times hard for me to follow between the duel timelines.

From “Angelica” the famous artistic muse to private secretary of Helen Frick. By chance, Lillian finds that she has crossed the boundaries of one art world into another. She is nothing if not a survivor, and while she intends on making her way to Hollywood to be an actress, what better training than to act as a secretary to the infamous Frick family in their palatial New York City mansion. Lillian leaves one drama ridden home for another as she is drawn into mystery, thievery, and deception at the hands of Henry Clay Frick, her daughter Helen and an array of family members and staff that all have something to hide.
Jump ahead almost 50 years and we find Veronica Webb, a British model trying to make her fortune to help her own desperate family. She has landed a Vogue shoot at the Frick Museum in New York City. After speaking her mind, she is dismissed and consoles herself by hiding her shame in a secret room, only to find herself locked into the house during a black out winter storm. Using old letters found in the secret room, Veronica decides to pass the time by searching the house. She finds she is not alone at the museum and joins forces with intern-curator Joshua to use those letters to search the house for the lost Magnolia Diamond, according to museum lore.
These two worlds finally collide with death bed confessions, guilt-ridden greed, and some mean Daddy issues.
Fiona Davis takes us once again into a famous building in New York City surrounding by mystery and scandal and gives us the best of historical fiction that keeps us up all night, finishing the book.

The Magnolia Palace is the third novel I have read by Fiona Davis and my favorite of hers so far. It was really well-told and I learned a lot about the Frick family, as I knew nothing about them until now. I loved both Lillian and Veronica. Their narratives were compelling and captivating. Helen was so feisty and I felt bad for her, while admiring her at the same time. Of course, she could be infuriating too! The descriptions really brought the story to life. It was easy to get caught up in everything that was going on and there was a mystery element that I enjoyed trying to figure out.

I felt like the story went on a little too long at the end and could have been wrapped up a different way, but it was still great overall.

This novel is perfect for fans of Susan Meissner, Camille Di Maio, and Renee Rosen.

Movie casting suggestions:
Lillian: Madison Lintz
Veronica: Ella Purnell
Helen: Alana Haim
Mr. Danforth: Luke Kleintank
Joshua: Kamil McFadden
Mr. Frick: Xander Berkeley
Mr. Graham: Eric Nelsen
Thanks to Dutton for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Love love love! Fiona Davis does it again. She was one of the first authors I read when joining bookstagram too!

This book was too slow for me. I wasn't really interested in the story nor the art aspect and the dual timelines were a bit confusing. Could be partially my fault as I probably wasn't paying attention. I would still give this author another try in the future.

Another wonderfully researched book with intriguing characters by this author. If you are interested in learning more about the Frick family this is the book for you. A mystery, romance, the art world, a dual timeline, and learning how to adapt to one’s surroundings all covered in this book. A good book club discussion title.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis.
I found the Magnolia Palace to be a slow read. The characters never fully developed, which left the story feeling flat. The dual timeline didn't add to the main plot; the storyline from the 1960s seemed to be created to add mystery but seemed unrealistic. I would have enjoyed the story more if it focused only on the 1920 timeline. I enjoyed the historical parts, learning about the Frick family and art collection, but the mystery didn't work for me.

Fiona Davis brings us another historical fiction novel set in New York City. This one takes place in the Frick Mansion. As usual, there are two different timelines. One is in 1919 and is the story of an artist's muse, Lillian, who takes refuge in the Frick Mansion after being suspected of murder. She becomes Helen Frick's personal assistant. The other timeline is in 1966 where a model , Veronica, gets trapped inside the mansion when there is a blizzard. The two storylines are woven together and come to a satisfying conclusion.

Fiona Davis is one of my favorite authors. I look forward to her next historical fiction novel. I highly recommend all of her novels.

As the other books written by Fiona Davis, this historical fiction focuses on a hidden treasure in a famous place. Set-in two-time periods, it follows two young women as they become involved with the Frick Mansion in New York City. In 1919, Lillian, a famous muse for sculptors and painters, is a person of interest in the murder of her landlord’s wife. Trying to hide while getting enough money to go to California to become a silent film star, she stumbles up the steps of the Frick mansion and is mistaken for an applicant to become Miss Helen Frick’s personal secretary. In the 1960’s a young British model becomes stuck in the museum during a blizzard after a photo shoot. The two time periods work well as it shows the transition from private home to art museum and sheds light on the wealthy lifestyle of the early 20th century.

What is it about the Frick family and their art museum? Lillian, hired to help Helen Frick with the reference library tells the story of intrigue and the search for the missing Magnolia Diamond.