Masquerade [Mass Market Paperback]

Walter Satterthwait (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1999

Paris in the 1920s: Pinkerton agents Phil Beaumont and Jane Turner are investigating the deaths of a wealthy expatriate American publisher and his German mistress. From saloons to salons, catacombs to cafes, the two journey throughout the darkest and highest recesses of Paris society, along the way running into the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and a bevy of eccentric characters. Martin's Press.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Walter Satterthwait writes richly detailed historical mysteries about everyone from Oscar Wilde to Lizzie Borden. In the well-reviewed Escapade, he introduced us to Pinkerton detective Phil Beaumont and his partner, a sharp and seductive Brit named Jane Turner. Masquerade brings this fascinating couple to Paris in 1923, where wealthy American dilettante Richard Forsythe and his German mistress have been found dead. The French police are calling it a double suicide, but Forsythe's mother has hired Beaumont and Turner to dig deeper. In between having amorous alliances, spotting the likes of Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway on the street, and eating too many rich meals with a French policeman ("One can lead a horse to tournedos Rossini, but one cannot make him eat," this worthy sighs when Phil finally requests a steak, rare, with no sauces), Beaumont and Turner dip into a world of insidious aristocrats and dangerous drug dealers as they find out what really happened. Other Satterthwait pleasures in paperback: Accustomed to the Dark, At Ease with the Dead, Wall of Glass. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Parallel stories told in the distinct voices of Jane Turner and Phil Beaumont (last seen together in Escapade) merge in this witty and beguiling mystery set in 1923 Paris. American expatriate Richard Forsythe, acknowledged dilettante and wastrel, is found dead in his hotel room with his German mistress, Sabine von Stuben. The police have ruled the deaths a double suicide, and the case is officially closed. But Richard's determined mother has hired the Pinkertons to delve into it, and Jane, a British operative who is placed undercover as governess to a different branch of the Forsythe family, gleans invaluable details from Richard's 18-year-old cousinAwho is quite smitten with her. Her wry and perceptive observations are penned to a British friend. Phil, a shrewdly observant American, narrates his side of the story in a straight first-person voice. A Pinkerton who can work equally well with corrupt Parisian police, smug aristocrats, violent drug dealers or his gourmand French counterpart, Phil produces information that definitely suggests that Richard Forsythe was murdered. The book is wonderfully rich in detail and atmosphere, offering riveting scenes in sewers and salons, as well as over-the-top cameos by Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Best of all, when Phil and Jane finally cross paths, they provide some electrifying moments. This deftly told mystery, a delightful mix of high society and the demimonde, offers readers a terrific imaginary junket.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (May 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312969899
• ISBN-13: 978-0312969899
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,161,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was raised by wolverines. The wolves wouldn't take me.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Even at four stars Walter still rocks, August 6, 2001

By 

Jillian F Palethorpe (Topanga, Ca 90290) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masquerade (Hardcover)

It's not his best but it's still a lot better than most of the stuff out there, especially in the historical name-drop genre. If you haven't already, try the top of his form -- "Miss Lizzie" "Wilde West" (remember the cowboy at Wilde's grave?)-- and then see if you don't want to e-mail his publisher begging for another fix. Meantime, there's "Masquerade" an entertaining enough sequel to "Eascapade" and featuring the same characters but not quite up to the same level. With all that thorough research I know he does, I was a little disappointed at what Walter left out of his dance through the seamier side of Paris in the 20s. Oh yes, there's ex-Pinkerton, Phil and the gushingly ambiguous Jane and, oh yes, Walter nails the outrageous American ex-pats but what about the artists, the great lesbian hostesses, what about more pages? Is he saving all of this for the sequel? I hope so. And I hope it happens soon.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, witty intellegent historical mystery, November 7, 2000

By 

M. Barroll "(Peggy)" (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Masquerade (Mass Market Paperback)

This a delightful historical piece, set in the 1920's in Paris. It is, in form, a murder mystery, but the mystery itself is really the least of the attractions of the book. Satterthwait obviously enjoys history, and can dig out the really neat stuff and present it in a delightful, funny and very readable style. I was completely engrossed by the charming characters, each of whom speaks in a unique voice, and all of whom say very funny things. Historical figures including Hemingway and Gertrude Stein (and an equivalent of Agatha Cristie) are encountered along the way, and their depictions are extremely interesting, and from I can tell, quite accurate. Somehow Satterthwait makes the appearance of these characters in his book seem entirely natural, and he makes them come alive with their own concerns and interests.

Satterthwait also provides an insightful and evocative characterization of Paris between the wars, a time that has always interested me. This is the time of flappers in America, and we meet their representative in France as the widow of one of the murder victim (oh yes, this is a murder mystery...) It is a time of desperate fun and vigorous intellectual life, but meanwhile the shades of Naziism are starting to descend on Europe. We learn about a Nazi fundraiser in France, and her friends, lovers, fellow-travelers and contributors. It is a time of relative social freedom, and the book takes us on an interesting side trip into the Parisian lesbian community.

One of the book's narrators is a classic hardboiled American Pinkerton, who is perfectly paired with an verbose and expressive Frenchman, who is a dilletante detective and an obsessive gourmet and bon vivant. Their dialogue is worth the price of the book. The other narrator is a vivid young Englishwoman, well educated but down on her luck and enlisted by the Pinkertons, and she writes of her adventures in delightfully crafted, witty letters to her best friend. You don't see much of the epistolary form of literature anymore, and Satterthwait has taken the opportunity to revive it and put it to his own uses.

Escapade (the predecessor of this book) is very good, but I think Masquerade is even better. I am waiting the next promised installment with bated breath, in which our narrators are scheduled to go to pre-war Germany and hob-nob with the Nazis.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GRIPPING HISTORICAL MYSTERY, April 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Masquerade (Hardcover)

Satterthwait does it again with this wonderful blend of historical characters and his own inimitable fictional creations. Step back in time to 1923 Paris as you meet such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Erik Satie. Satterthwait's wit and complex plotting will keep the most intelligent reader smiling and guessing until the very end. A taut, complelling page turner. Don't miss!