Elizabeth Cooke (4)

I received this book as a goodreads giveaway and the author went to great lengths to get it to me. I won it in October and got it the last week of March with a personal note about the delay (postal), bookmark too, Thank you. I was impressed with the book the moment that I took it out of the envelope, the hardcover material used is shiny and a material that I have only seen on one other adult book, it is often used in childrens books and is impressive as is the ink used. I know it's weird to evaluate a book about this, but these features are unusual and outstanding.
Now, the book itself was wonderful. It is not the first book of these characters, but it is a stand alone book, I absolutely loved the characters, the story line is interesting and kept me wanting to read when I was doing other things. Each person is so unique and someone you wish you could meet. I loved the french sayings interspersed into the story line and just when I thought I knew what would happen next, I was surprised with the actual outcome. I definitely will be reading Elizabeth Cooke's other books. I rarely give out 5 stars, but this one earned them. Loved this book.… (plus d'informations)

RENDEZVOUS AT A SMALL HOTEL is one of series of charming, short novellas about Elizabeth Cooke, an American widow in her 60s, who returns annually to a small hotel in Paris, partly to enjoy the city and her friends who live there but mostly to visit her lover, Brit.

They had last been together in August at her house in Long Island. Since then she has not heard from him. That was very unusual, so she decided to come earlier than planned to try to discover where he was what and had happened. She quickly learned that no one seems to know the answers and sets out to find him.

The book includes a great many references to previous stories. Eventually we get enough information to know how this book fits in. The main one was the elopement of Duke and Lilith, which she helped accomplish. That angered Hamid, Lilith's father, who planned to marry her to someone else. Among the main characters are members of the hotel staff, who know them quite well, friends of hers, and Italian man who smuggles wine and olive oil into France.

The book provides descriptions of both locales and food in the area. To provide an authentic flavor, the author uses a lot of French terms. She actually overuses them, especially when the French word is almost identical to the English one.

I received this book through Goodreads though it is not the one I expected.… (plus d'informations)

This is a short entertaining book, the 6th in a series, about life in a small Parisian hotel.

The protagonist is Elizabeth, and the various exploits of her and her friends and acquaintances make up the subject matter of these books.

In this novel, Elizabeth, a frequent visitor to France, gets a call from the manager of the hotel she stays at when in Paris. Some unnamed woman has been looking for her. Who this mysterious woman is, why she is seemingly out to get Elizabeth, and what she and her friends plan to do about it, form the opening conflict. Elizabeth's friends as well as her boyfriend deliberate, trying to figure out a plan of action. They make a scheme of their own to get back the reputation and money of Elizabeth and to punish the perpetrator.

The ensuing intrigue makes for a lively and entertaining read. There's a bit of soap opera flair and drama, a bit of mystery. The writing is brisk and terse, and along with the present tense narration provides a nice tension from the opening chapters. The in medias res beginning from the get go plunges us right into the action.

Though this was my first book of the series, and the reader is slightly at a disadvantage not knowing the specific relationships between the characters, I didn't find that this was a great obstacle to enjoy the plot here. Clearly the characters are related in ways previously introduced, but everything is simple to understand.

The author's great love for France and Paris shines through these pages. The author's affection for the people, locations, and scenes comes through.

One note: the present tense narration is used for flashbacks as well (that is, when the narrator is describing past scenes). This is not correct, and makes for a little confusion.

Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy.… (plus d'informations)

Good story; written with just enough detail to tell the tale but not so much to bog down the reader. It's a story set in Paris about identity theft and vigilante justice which is apparently okay when delivered with elan. It's a relatively short book and would be a handy companion for that short flight or waiting in an airport or doctor's office.

This book is the sixth in series set in and around a small Paris hotel. It is written in the current first person voice. The series has its following and has received a number of awards.

I am grateful to author Elizabeth Cooke and Goodreads First Reads for having provided a free copy of this book. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.… (plus d'informations)