Customer Reviews

The Alibi Club

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had trouble getting into the first few chapters of the book, so I checked a few reviews on Amazon and saw that it had 4 stars, so thought I'd try to plug away. There were moments of promise, but like the reviewer before me, I thought there were too many characters introduced without enough character development. I'd constantly find myself turning to a previous page/chapter to figure out who they were talking about. I barely made it to the end.

In 1940 Paris, American model Sally King awaits the arrival of her lover Philip Stilwell even as news that the Nazis had broken the French army causing a massive retreat. Though his note said he would be late arriving at the restaurant, when he fails to show up she heads to his law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell only to learn from her lover's peer Max Shoop that Philip was dead. The police insist a heart attack, but the Coco Chanel model believes otherwise as she thinks he was murdered.

The repercussions of Philip's death reach the notorious Alibi Club, the in night club of the city. While African-American singer, Memphis Jones performs at the Alibi Club, others discuss the death of Stilwell especially since the freakishly tall Sally pushes for an investigation before the Nazis reach the city. At the same time Joe Hearst of the American embassy knows that the Germans and others may have connected Stilwell to a secret retained by Irene Curie, the offspring of the renowned scientists. If it falls into the wrong hands the Germans could with little effort devastate the world.

Using real persona like the Dulles siblings, Francine Mathews provides a deep look at 1940 Paris just before the Nazi blitzkrieg takes over the city. The whodunit and subsequent amateur investigation are cleverly developed and the mystery of Curie's secret that the Nazis want makes for a strong mystery. However, what makes THE ALIBI CLUB a great thriller is the atmosphere and ambience of the time and place so much so the readers will seek the usual suspects as we will always have Paris.

Harriet Klausner

I hate to admit it, but with so many characters in the book, I found myself a little lost most of the time. I still have no idea what heavy water is, safe to say it was necessary for the bomb. I think adding length with character detail to go a few layers deeper would have helped. The cast she built certainly offered alot of opportunity for this. Would make a great screenplay, nonetheless.

I struggled through to the end of Chapter 8 before setting this one aside. I consider my 1-star rating to be generous.

I think this is one of Francine's best books. The milieu is absorbing, and the story compelling. The cast of characters take a bit of time to get to know, but once you're involved you won't want this book to end.