ARC Review: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger . . .

Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue — and one killer queen.

What a surprise this read turned out to be!  The cover initially drew me in and piqued my interest and the synopsis sounded interesting enough, but as time wore on leading up to the cracking of this book's cover I started to question whether or not my high hopes would turn out to be unfounded or not.  But right from the start this read proved to be a quick and very entertaining one.  Definitely falls into the category of a title that can be read in a few sittings and will keep readers interested and entertained throughout.

 

Any book that features or is centered around the city of Paris already rates high on my scale of fabulous backdrops.  It's a city I've always and will always want to visit.  Alender did a fabulous job describing the city, and to be honest while I was reading this book I felt as if I was right there alongside each of the characters as they made their way through the city of Paris each and every stop on their tour schedule.  The descriptions were the perfect combination of detail and intricacy that kept me interested and created wonderful visuals that developed with Alender's words all along the way.

 

While I must admit that the mystery behind the killings taking place in Paris while Colette and her classmates are touring the city might not have been extremely tense or anxiety inducing, it was still compelling and had me itching to see how it would all pan out.  If there are readers out there who enjoy a good mystery, a fast and enjoyable read, the city of Paris, Marie Antoinette factoids, etc...then this will be a read that will entertain and leave them with a content and pleasurable experience.