The Paris affair

A young engineer in 1880s Paris weathers romance and danger while helping to build the Eiffel Tower in former high school history teacher Marshall's effervescent debut. The bastard son of an English earl, Fin Tighe can hardly pay rent in the apartment he shares with his cousin, ballet dancer Aurelie. When Fin's not protecting Aurelie from lecherous patrons, he spends his time helping Gustave Eiffel find investors for his tower. In that capacity, he meets charismatic Gilbert Duhais, who insists he can help land investors if Fin is willing to claim he's closer to his estranged father than he actually is. Meanwhile, Jody, the owner of a gay club Fin frequents, enlists the engineer to help find his missing sister. As Fin starts to investigate, he uncovers clues that the girl's disappearance may be tangled up with Gilbert and his wealthy and unpleasant uncle. Then someone in Fin's circle turns up dead, and his budding attraction to Gilbert becomes colored by a growing suspicion that his handsome paramour might be a killer. Marshall laces the novel's first half with delightful characterizations and rich historical detail, then ratchets up the pace in the second, delivering a barrage of well-earned reveals. Francophiles, take note: this steamy slice of romantic suspense is très bien. Agent: Catilin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Assoc. (May)

An engineer working on the Eiffel Tower draws the attention of a wealthy heir who may be more dangerous than he seems. Fin Tighe, who has come to Paris from London to escape his cruel aristocratic father, has found some success as an engineer working with Gustave Eiffel. But he struggles to support himself and his cousin Aurélie, a ballerina he strives to protect from the lecherous men who prey on young dancers. While at one of her performances, Fin catches the eye of Gilbert Duhais, the nephew and heir of Michel de Genet, scion of a luxury department store that seeks to make inroads in the U.K. The meeting is fortuitous: Fin has been asked to drum up investments for the planned Eiffel Tower, an unpopular undertaking that has lost funding and threatens his and his employer's financial solvency. Gilbert offers to introduce him to the wealthiest people in Parisian society but also reveals that he knows Fin's father and was friends with Aurélie's abusive brother. Despite his hesitancy, Fin allows Gilbert to advocate for him, and in time begins a romantic relationship that puts them both at risk. But as the two grow closer, danger mounts--one of Fin's friends goes missing and another turns up dead. Soon Fin learns that Gilbert is more than his uncle's accountant, and Fin must determine what the real motive is for his interest. With his convoluted backstory, Fin can be hard to empathize with. Stubborn and untrusting, he lacks any dynamism that would match Gilbert's flair. Instead, the coupling seems random and without passion, and the mystery of why Gilbert has chosen to befriend him becomes tangled in too many potential connections between the two to make sense. This overstuffed novel is heavy on suspicion and light on chemistry. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.