cover image What She Saw

What She Saw

Gerard Stembridge. Harper, $15.99 trade paperback (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-256898-4

Irish author Stembridge (The Effect of Her) provides a satisfyingly twisty 24-hour thrill ride through the heart of contemporary Paris. Lana Gibson, an American living in Dublin, decides on a whim to fly to Paris, where she intends to see an art exhibition and not think too hard about an old lover living in the city. At the posh Hotel Le Chevalier, she talks to a beautiful woman in the bar. An hour later, the impulsive Lana slips into the hotel’s private elevator, which she knows goes up to a private suite. When the elevator doors open, she spots the woman from the bar resisting the advances of a naked older man. Lana takes photos with her cell phone before the doors close. The man turns out to be Jean-Luc Fournier, an important French politician, and Lana soon finds herself in big trouble. The secondary viewpoint of a frustrated small player in Fournier’s organization adds complexity and raises the tension. [em]Agent: Gráinne Fox, Fletcher & Company. (May) [/em]