Description
Following a sudden break-up, Englishman in New York Nick Braeburn takes a room with the elderly Peacock sisters in their lavish Upper East Side apartment, and finds himself increasingly drawn to the priceless piece of Egyptian art on their study wall - and to Lydia, the beautiful Portuguese artist who lives across the roof garden.
But as Nick draws Lydia into a crime he hopes will bring them together, they both begin to unravel, and each find that the other is not quite who they seem.
Paul Tudor Owen's intriguing debut novel brilliantly evokes the New York of Paul Auster and Joseph O'Neill.
Review
I am thrilled to be on the blog tour for this book. I thought from the description it would be a book I'd like, especially as it is set in New York. Well I didn't just like it, I LOVED it!
Straight away I just loved the character of Nick, a Brit in NY. I'm not sure why exactly maybe it was his slightly laid back approach to life and his calm narration. I adored his voice in the book and the fact that he got himself a room in a Fifth Avenue Apartment, the stuff that dreams are made of. The sisters who owned the Apartment were also fascinating, and I eagerly absorbed their New York life and business transactions. Through scene setting and the wonderfully descriptive writing I was instantly transported to New York.
There are strong links to Egyptology throughout the book and this is so cleverly interwoven into the story, sometimes spookily, as with the dead bees he finds. The title of the book refers to the ancient Egyptians and their belief that to enter your afterlife, your heart had to be light. So I also learnt a few things about the Egyptians too.
The book description states that "Nick draws Lydia into a crime" and for a while I wasn't sure how this nice man was going to do that. In fact I was so enjoying reading about his day to day life and his romantic pursuit of Lydia, that I totally forgot that aspect of the book. Nick also seemed to be someone so unlikely to commit a crime, let alone entice someone else who was even further from being a potential criminal. Well, as they say "still waters run deep" and without giving anything away, what a character Nick turns out to be, and yet I still liked him.
There were also twists and turns so subtly crafted so as to be so believable. However, I can't believe that this is a first novel. Paul is compared to Auster who I also love to read, but I would say that Paul's work is a lot more accessible, but I can see why it has been compared to Auster.
Straight away I just loved the character of Nick, a Brit in NY. I'm not sure why exactly maybe it was his slightly laid back approach to life and his calm narration. I adored his voice in the book and the fact that he got himself a room in a Fifth Avenue Apartment, the stuff that dreams are made of. The sisters who owned the Apartment were also fascinating, and I eagerly absorbed their New York life and business transactions. Through scene setting and the wonderfully descriptive writing I was instantly transported to New York.
There are strong links to Egyptology throughout the book and this is so cleverly interwoven into the story, sometimes spookily, as with the dead bees he finds. The title of the book refers to the ancient Egyptians and their belief that to enter your afterlife, your heart had to be light. So I also learnt a few things about the Egyptians too.
The book description states that "Nick draws Lydia into a crime" and for a while I wasn't sure how this nice man was going to do that. In fact I was so enjoying reading about his day to day life and his romantic pursuit of Lydia, that I totally forgot that aspect of the book. Nick also seemed to be someone so unlikely to commit a crime, let alone entice someone else who was even further from being a potential criminal. Well, as they say "still waters run deep" and without giving anything away, what a character Nick turns out to be, and yet I still liked him.
There were also twists and turns so subtly crafted so as to be so believable. However, I can't believe that this is a first novel. Paul is compared to Auster who I also love to read, but I would say that Paul's work is a lot more accessible, but I can see why it has been compared to Auster.
I have no hesitation in giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. I read it in two sittings, it would have been less if time had allowed, I really didn't want to put it down. It's rare I read a book twice, but I think this will be going on the "to be read again" shelf. I will be watching for more from this author.
My thanks to Paul for a dedicated copy of the book to review and to Kelly at Love Books Group Tours without whom I would not have found this wonderful book.
You can buy your copy by following this link https://amzn.to/2Ygx8tz
About the author
Paul Tudor
Owen was born in Manchester in 1978, and was
educated at the University of Sheffield, the University of Pittsburgh, and the
London School of Economics.
He began his
career as a local newspaper reporter in north-west London, and currently works
at the Guardian, where he spent three years as deputy head of US news at the
paper's New York office.
@PaulTOwen
@ObliteratiPress
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