LOST IN PARIS
Betty Webb, Author
Historical Mystery

This follows Zoe Barlow, who has gone from riches to barely scraping by. She is now trying to help out Mrs. Ernest Hemingway, who lost all of her husband’s writings. As her friends are being killed around her, she must figure out a way to stop the chain of events and find the missing papers.

I truly enjoyed this book. There’s murder around every corner and the dropping of famous people’s names in almost every chapter. Then to top it off the twist at the end. I would definitely give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

Read from March 22nd, 2023 to April 1st, 2023. Written on April 4th, 2023.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book because the story wasn't captivating me enough and the writing style was not one that I was enjoying to read. I do believe whoever likes murder mystery stories may like this one; for me, it just wasn't it.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press that I chose to review after reading)

A Grand Mystery!

Life in the artist quarters of Paris in the 1920’s. Of course all the greats are present, the artists, writers, sculptors of the time. that involves the Hemingway’s and our heroine Zoe Barlow as she tries to solve the mystery of a missing manuscript, digging herself deeper into the perceived insults, the slights, and the drama surrounding those involved. When she starts to stumble across bodies, she realizes there’s more here than meets the eye.
Webb’s brilliantly captured the time and mood of the heaving mass of artistic temperament and talent that was Paris then.

A Poisoned Pen ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

I love Gunn Zoo mysteries and always had a lot of fun in reading Betty Webb's mysteries. This one didn't work for me even if I love stories in in Paris in the Twenties.
There's a lot of research and the historical background is wivid and the mix of fiction and historical characters work.
I'm not a fan of Zoe but the setting was intriguing.
The mystery was the weakest part and I found it a bit boring.
There's potential but it's not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I absolutely adored Webb’s Lena Jones series, so I felt only cautiously optimistic about this book, because it seemed so different from the Lena books which were set in modern-day Arizona. But in the end, Lost in Paris was more like the Lena books than I could have hoped for, particularly in its heroine. On the surface, Zoe seems very different from Lena, but she shares the things I liked best: a core resiliency, an entrenched decency, and - despite her flaws and darkness - a likability that made me root for her like I always rooted for Lena.

Add to the above the fact that Love in Paris is a historical mystery, my very favorite kind, and it’s really no surprise that I simply loved it. I did catch an anachronism or two, and a person more knowledgeable than I about art history may have caught more, but I found the feeling of the book to be perfectly evocative of Paris in the 1920s. And, as was the case with the Lena Jones series, Webb included one (or two) series-spanning mystery arcs for me to look forward to.

Thanks so very much to NetGalley for providing the ARC for my review.

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed this story! Wonderful story line and great characters! Highly highly recommend..

When I learned that Betty Webb had a new book coming out, I was thrilled. I've long been a fan of both her Lena Jones and her Gunn Zoo mystery series. Although not a real fan of the post-World War I Paris setting, I don't think it really matters when a favorite author is involved. Unfortunately, when I read Lost in Paris, I felt as though I was lost in endless research that kept what could have been a taut, absorbing mystery from its rightful place in the spotlight.

Lost in Paris is really for devotees of social commentary and stories that immerse one in a specific time and place. This book does that very well indeed, but when, as I'm reading, I begin to wonder why certain things are in a book, that tends to be a red flag. Hemingway's missing manuscripts. Zoe earns extra cash by hosting Poker Fridays at her house. Her Wednesday salons where she feeds starving artists. A cab driver who happens to be Armenian so the recent genocide can be discussed. Zoe paints masks for les Mutilés-- men whose faces were horribly disfigured in the war. The Trouser March. Mary Cassatt. Gertrude Stein. The list goes on.

Then there's Zoe's how-has-she-survived-it backstory. Her severely broken leg. The suspicious death of her father. Her evil stepmother. Zoe's scandalous behavior that got her exiled. Her younger sister's marriage and subsequent trip to Germany in which Hitler can be mentioned. I know a lot of this is setting up the characters and the series, but I was often frustrated by the mystery taking a backseat to all the historical detail.

Then there's Zoe, a character I never did warm up to. Her ill-advised affair with a married police officer-- and where is the author trying to take us with those occasional chapters written from the point of view of the police officer's wife? Yes, it's admirable that Zoe's sense of friendship is often stronger than her common sense, but there are only so many times that she can wander around alone at night almost falling down drunk before I can't resist rolling my eyes. Speaking of being drunk-- true to the times-- it's a wonder all the characters don't die of lung cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.

The mystery is very good whenever it is allowed to have center stage, but I'm completely undecided on the matter of will-I-or-won't-I read the next book in the series-- something that's never happened before with this author. I'm feeling more than a bit disloyal.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

I love when fiction is mixed with history and I also love a good mystery. Lost in Paris has both, as well as escape to 1920s France which is always an exciting time.

Zoe Barlow is a great protagonist with sad backround. I hope we have more adventures with her.
Also I would also love to live in Paris during the 1920's

Lost in Paris takes us to the Paris of 1922, post WWI and the Russian Revolution. It is a time of recovery, but it still has many social problems resulting from these conflicts: poverty, unemployment, immigration, survivors of loss such as those permanently injured or orphaned. It is also a second chance at life for Zoe Barlow, an American, estranged from her wealthy family in Alabama. She has become a part of the artists, writers and entertainers social set.
The book has 3 intertwined themes: life and culture in Paris at that time, a theft involving the Hemingways followed by several murders involving connections to Zoe directly or indirectly, and Zoe’s past traumas.
The amount of research by the author involved in recreating life in Paris in 1922 was obvious and thorough. However, I felt some of the research detail could have been slimed down for a better flow. I found myself looking for a better balance in how the book unfolded especially as regarded the historical informational details and diversions which at times became distracting and pace slowing, and Zoe’s past, which kept being hinted at but was not revealed until very late.
I liked the story, the setting and the characters. It had good elements, although low on suspense in the mystery storyline which was actually okay. Overall, the book improved greatly the farther along I got into it and the author revealed more about several characters beyond the superficial. I rated it 3.5 stars which was an average as parts I felt would have been rated higher. There is a sequel planned which I look forward to reading.
Thank you to the author, Betty Webb, the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

Betty Webb again demonstrates her range and versatility in this new series set in early 1920s France. Murder, intrigue, Russian refugees, American ex-pat artists -- the story is consistently engrossing.

There's a lot going on in this mystery novel set in Paris in the 1920s but it's an enjoyable kinda-cozy featuring both Zoe, a painter who fled the US. and the Hemmingways, who have lost a suitcase containing Ernest's writings. Zoe, who has a more interesting back story than I expected, sets off to find the missing work and discovers- dead bodies! Of Russians! Is one of them Anastasia? Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good atmospherics and an intrepid heroine made this a good read.

Lost in Paris
by Betty Webb
3 stars

After disgracing her family in Alabama, Zoe is exiled to Paris. In Paris, Zoe finds a new family among friends. When Zoe's friend loses her husband's life work, Zoe comes to the rescue to try to find it. Along the way, Zoe stumbles upon two murders. While Zoe deals with her struggles, she keeps digging into the murders. She just needs to be careful, so she doesn't get herself killed.

I liked Zoe and how she does everything for her friends, but I couldn't get into the book. It was just a loss to me. I chose this book based on the cover, but it wasn't for me.

Thank you, Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press, for the eARC for an honest review.
Also, Sourcebooks for the Physical copy.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest review

DNF at 50%.

This is probably me. I'm having such a hard time getting into the book that I've been skim-reading most of it. And it's such a shame, because I'm sure that so many people will love this book.

I requested it because it combined historical Paris, the 1920's and the Romanov's in one book, but I got so distracted along the way that I lost the plotline. There's a lot of namedropping and gallivanting around without actually doing something that will further the plot, so I'm sad to say I'm gonna have to pass on this book to avoid a reading slump.

I found the premise interesting and I liked learning more about the time period, the artists, and the culture of Paris. Other than that, I found the story dragged and it didn’t hold my interest. Zoe wasn’t likeable and her relationship wasn’t believable. I’m glad I got through it but it’s not a story that will stay with me.

Set in exuberant and glamorous 1920s Paris, Lost in Paris is about a young woman who at eighteen lost everything including her family. Zoe wound up in Paris where she became a painter a few years later and hung out with the artistic set, partying and gambling and even wearing daring clothes for the time. Her best friend Hadley Hemingway was married to the moody and irascible Ernest. Ernest's documents cause many problems and Zoe is determined to find answers. When bodies turn up, things become more twisted and tangled.

Zoe encounters infuriating but handsome and sexy Inspector Henri Challiot and sparks fly. Secrets and glamour are de riguer and this story is a glimpse into that past Parisienne golden world. Zoe is fiercely independent...she has to be...but I am not fond of her and felt no connection to any of the characters. Though fascinated by the snippets of luminaries of the time, I did not find them convincing.

Historical Fiction fans who like murder mystery and romance in their stories in a fascinating era and setting, give this a try. Lots here to like...documents, Paris café culture, glamour, interesting characters. But the main characters are unrelatable and a bit much at times. The frolicking story didn't always apeal but that's just me. In ways it has the je ne sais quois element but something was inexplicable off.

My sincere thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this original novel.

Putting Paris in the 20's with the lost manuscript of Hemingway along with Anastasia Romanov was a bit much. I would rather have had separate books as opposed to bringing them together in one mystery. I finished the book but was overly impressed. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an engrossing story! Main characters and real people living in Paris in the 1920s. All with heartbreaking secrets, personal issues, and professional challenges. Throw in murder and Bolsheviks. Zoe Barlow, a transplanted Alabama artist, has plenty of pain and regrets but she also has plenty of artist friends, until they start getting picked off, one by one. I hope this is the start of a series because there are a lot of stories here and the characters have so much depth.

This book was fast-paced and kept me interested! It transported me to the 1920s time period. I did feel that some of the characters were not developed enough. But overall I would still recommend the book to historical fiction lovers!

I chose LOST IN PARIS, a unique historical mystery, because of that glorious cover. Alas, the author captures the zeitgeist of the 1920s Lost Generation so well that it left me feeling "lost" too. I could not connect with the poor souls -- artists, writers like Hemingway, Russian escapees from the Revolution (Anastasia?) -- who numb out post-war by drinking, gambling, and sleeping around. However, other histfic mystery fans drawn to tragedy will likely love this distinctive tale.

Thanks to the author, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

I really enjoy historical fiction. I read it all the time. Having said that, Lost in Paris by Betty Webb just did not do it for me. The story looked interesting enough, but I never was invested in any of the characters or the reasons for some of the things the heroine, Zoe Barlow did.

Exiled to Paris after an issue in her home state of Alabama (and this information comes way too late in the story in my opinion), she has made friends with other artists. Some of the big names of the era are in this book, but alas, their backstories or their art weren't highlighted or even spoken about that much. It seems like she's always running across dead bodies and other mysteries but, I just couldn't get excited about Zoe or the other characters and what they were going through.

There will be many people who will love this book. I'm just not one of them. I do appreciate the time, effort, and research the author did, that's why I'm giving the book 3 stars. If you're a reader enamored by the 1920's and the societal changes that were ushered in during that decade, give this book a try.