cover image The Shoe Queen

The Shoe Queen

Anna Davis. Pocket Books, $14 (399pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-3735-9

British author Davis's first stateside release channels the literary wilds of 1925 Paris, where aspiring poet Genevieve Shelby King moves her new husband, Robert from Boston. Out clubbing with bon vivant friend Lulu, Genevieve, who is less than virtuous, spies the perfect pair of shoes on a rival's feet. Nothing will do but that Paolo Zachari, maker of the ""world's most expensive shoes,"" take Genevieve's order. Businessman husband Robert is still smitten, but there's something mysterious about Genevieve's past that he's determined to uncover. In a wonderfully realistic denouement to this complexly plotted story, Genevieve resolves her marital ambivalence and comes to a touching conclusion about her literary aspirations.