As much as I wanted to love this book I really struggled to feel connected to Charlie. I understand what the author was trying to do in terms of showcasing her struggles, but I feel like she came off as a cliche without a lot of humanity. The dialogue was over the top and stilted all at the same time. I also felt like the mystery portion of the book was very obvious. I don't need to be duped to love a mystery novel, but this one felt overly simplified. This one just isn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Vintage, & Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.

Meh. Didn't buy into it and the dialogue was grating.

Kirsty Manning has a real knack of completely hooking you at the very beginning of the story and
making you absolutely desperate to see how, what, why and everything is going to happen. One five stars read for sure.

Charlie James is a female journalist with two men's first names. She moves from Australia to Paris to escape her failed marriage and start a new job as a newspaper correspondent. Her first assignment is to cover Lady Ashworth's circus extravaganza, but turns to a while different story when a murder is committed during the party. Charlie works with the hunky police inspector on the story of a lifetime.

The writing is fairly good, and you can really feel the Paris of the Roaring Twenties coming through. Charlie is tough but fair, and is a wonderfully rounded character. The chemistry between her and the inspector, as well as one of the other fancy gentlemen in the mix of high society, is well done and leaves you wanting more for her. Once I got into the story, I really enjoyed it.

What I will say is that after the story that was developed in the first 32 chapters, the Epilogue leaves something to be desired. There's a final confrontation that plays out there, and Charlie alternated between know-it-all and clueless vibes, almost every other sentence. The person being confronted isn't much better. So the ending feels like it was rushed to be finished, or added FAR after the rest, so the author had gotten out of practice of writing these characters. Or maybe they're both play-acting? I did get this as an ADVANCED copy, so maybe (hopefully) this was fixed before publishing, but I'm not sure. I'll try to catch a physical copy and see if it was changed. I'll update my review then.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Not a bad book if you enjoy a slower paced read. I found it dragged in quiet a few places and than picked up in others. I am not a fan of books regarding reporters but this one caught my interest. All in all a good read even with the slower pace.

This is an enjoyable mystery that takes place in Paris just before the the start of WWII. Charlie James has left her home in Australia after filing for divorce from her cheating husband. She's taken a job with the London times Paris desk. Her boss was surprised to discover she was a woman leading to Charlie having to prove she was capable to handle the job from the moment she stepped off of the train. She quickly becomes involved in a murder while investigating another story. I enjoyed the characters, and the twists in the mysteries that came right up to the end.

This one just didn’t hold my interest. I’ve read other books by her I loved but this one just was to slow and it was hard to follow.
Thanks yo Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

I liked the premise of The Paris Murder, the story moved along quickly. I had a couple of issues though. At times the story seemed to switch locations, scenes etc with no warning. If this turns out to be a series I’ll gladly pick up the next installment to see where the characters go from here

The Paris setting is well described as are the fashions. However the main character Charlie wasn’t that interesting to me. The mystery was easy to figure out and I’m not sure I’ll read any more in this new series.

This was slow for me to get into. The characters were hard for me to relate with. I was excited for a female character in a male dominated field, especially coming from the engineering world. I don't gravitate towards this sort of genre, but I figured a mystery would make it work for me.

The mystery was a little obvious, but there were enough turns that made it worth reading. Solid 3 stars - I think that this would work well for people who are into the Parisian genre.

The Paris mystery.

I love a good historical fiction mystery and The Paris Mystery did not disappoint. Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Books (Vintage) for my DRC in exchange for my honest review.

Set in the 1920s Paris and following new London Times reporter Charlie James, we are treated to the high Society of British diplomats and the French way of life. I enjoyed getting to know Charlie and see how her she was going to make it in her new role. The unraveling of the murder mystery was entertaining, and clever. And the setting was divine.

I suspect there will be more Charlie James mysteries, and I will definitely be picking them up.

Charlotte “Charlie” James arrives in 1938 Paris from Australia ready to start her dream job of reporting for The Times, and needing to impress her new British boss, but what is she hiding in her past? The Paris Mystery by Kirsty Manning is a fast-paced, intriguing story of a woman determined to find her place and establish herself in a world she is not quite a part of. Charlie is quickly immersed in a world of fancy parties, elegant design houses, and scandalous relationships, and she adapts well. She is determined to get the real story behind the murder of a shady investor, murdered at The Circus Ball, THE event of the season. She will have to rely on others to find the truth, regardless if she can trust them or not.

Manning is brilliant at setting the stage and creating the glitzy world of booze, broads, balls, and brutes. You really feel that you are in the fabulous cafes and mansions of 1930s Paris. Manning creates a smart, sophisticated character in Charlie, and you are immediately rooting for her to prove her sexist boss wrong!

Charlie’s past is slowly revealed and once done, it makes perfect sense for the character that we know in Paris. And it adds a layer of complexity to the story.

The mystery twists and turns and the ending is quite satisfying. And the fact that this should be a series of books (following Charlie’s adventures) is an added bonus. Charlie is just that kind of spunky, saucy heroine you want to read more about.

Great writing, lovely setting, and a main character you want to spend more time with after the book is over- all adds up to a 4/5 on the random rating scale. Thanks to @NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first book from Kirsty Manning, and I was looking forward to meeting Charlie James. I love female MCs that break the gender norms. And while I appreciate her being a minority in a male dominated field, that's kinda where it ended for me. It was hard for me to feel connected to Charlie, and therefore became hard to get through. This took me too long to read. I'm not sure if I'd read another book from this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I completed this a while ago but don't remember anything about it
I suppose it was okay but nothing too memorable
Will mostly read again to make a full assessment

DNF — Leaving three stars as a "neutral" review, since I can't leave no stars, and don't think it's fair to give a 1 star rating! Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. The writing style felt very disjointed, and it was difficult to read. I couldn't get attached to the characters quickly enough to maintain an interest. That, on top of the writing style, meant I had to put it to the side for now.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

After the disastrous end to her marriage back in her homeland, Paris offers a sparkling new opportunity that Charlotte "Charlie" James is determined to take with both hands. After landing the plum new job as correspondent for British-based newspaper The Times, Charlie's aware she'll have to work twice as hard as her male counterparts to prove her writing chops. When her first article covering the Circus Ball hosted by Lady Ashworth turns into a front-page homicide piece, Charlie finds herself intertwined with not only the local police, but also all of the murder suspects-- meaning she'll have to work to solve this mystery before any other reporter can steal her scoop.

Fun, flirty, and a little bit sexy-- THE PARIS MYSTERY is loaded with beautiful fashion, gorgeous men, and plenty of thrills. The story is every bit as lovely as that gorgeous cover, and is the promising start of Manning's newest cozy mystery series.

Seeking a fresh start, reporter Charlie James alights in Paris to start her new job as a reporter for The Times. Although her boss is surprised (and a little miffed) that she’s not the man he thought she’d be, he gives her a chance to prove herself. Her first task is to write an article on Lady Eleanor Ashworth and her husband, the hosts of the ball of the summer. Having had a successful interview with Lady Eleanor, Charlie is extended an invitation to the ball so she can write an article on the event. The event is talked about the next day, but not for the reason Lady Eleanor hoped – a prominent businessman is murdered right in the middle, with a throwing knife found in his chest.

Charlie is lucky to have the front-row seat to her first big scoop in Paris, and she makes a good move by arranging to trade information with the inspector on the case. With the help of the inspector, friends from the paper, and Lady Eleanor, Charlie aims to find the truth of the matter for her story and her first success in Paris.

I’ve been procrastinating this review, if I’m honest, because I’m still not very sure where I stand on The Paris Mystery. At most, I give it three stars. The writing was good but not great, the plot was about the same, and Charlie was a main character without a ton of personality. However, the surrounding characters were very colorful and interesting, and they helped round out the story well.

I liked that Charlie was a minority in her reporting role as a woman, and determined to succeed. Finally, we get a realistic occupation for a largely feminist character – I was very pleased with that. Much better than that noblewoman who was part of the secret society to learn “manly” skills and who used “misogyny” all the time (How to Court a Covert Lady). I did think Charlie’s backstory would be a little more dramatic than it was, but I feel that’s probably pretty realistic too. Charlie just wasn’t very interesting to me, but she was a strong woman and a genuine character, which was pleasant. As the series develops we may learn more about her as well.

The plot was okay; I felt pretty confident about the murderer from the beginning, but there was a sentence that gave it away. The motivations of the suspects were good enough to make us readers guess. There was a “lack of” element among the characters that led me to guess the murderer, too, though. I was also really dissatisfied with the ending, and I’m not even sure that I can say why without giving it away. But, for a reporter, Charlie gave up the chance to have a front-page story, and that disappointed me. She made a decision based on knowing someone for a few hours over a few weeks, and I don’t think that was appropriate (cue pearl-clutching?).

In summary, I would like to read the next book in the series as I want to see how it develops. The premise is very good, this novel has set up several opportunities for intrigue, the other characters are great, I love the setting, and I’m hoping that Charlie will grow on me. I don’t dislike her but just found her a little flat. I feel like the debut book in a series can be either rough or one that makes you wish there were five more books written, and I think this was a rougher one. But, it wasn’t bad. I definitely want to read the next installment!

When Charlie James left Australia to serve as a news correspondent in Paris, she never intended to become embroiled in helping to solve a murder. Charlie thought she would start out covering society news and parties held by prominent individuals. However, when a man is killed at a society ball, Charlie works with police to try to discover what happened.

This novel includes a lot of detail about Paris fashions and the lives of wealthy society stars. It also includes sexual content and some graphic depictions of death.scenes.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

In 1938 Paris, the fashion scene is in full swing, along with fancy dinner parties thrown by elite members of society. Yes, I’m such a fashion outcast that I had to look up most of the fashion words in the dictionary. Haha! My regular fashion words such as tshirt and jeans didn’t quite make the Paris fashion scene if you can believe it!

I wish I could attend their fancy parties, though! Ms. Manning’s descriptions of the circus masquerade party thrown by the Ashworths make you feel as if you are right there. The details she carefully crafts about the sights, sounds, and smells put you right in the middle of the action. The trainer leading the tiger around like a puppy, the India maharajas arriving on elephants, the white doves, and the black swans. The jugglers, the acrobats, and the fairy lights.

Guests with masks and designer dresses wander the grounds and hobnob with the important people. Those important people make up many characters in this book. These characters make the book. They’re well written, unique, diverse, and so fun! I love Violet’s fashion and Lady Ashworth’s extravagance. Charlie is down-to-earth, yet elegant and sophisticated. She’s relatable and comes across as authentic. The relationships between the characters are also well written and help bring the story to life.

There are many twists and turns to this book, and it definitely kept me guessing! It’s well written, entertaining, and so fun. I enjoyed my time in 1938 Paris, for sure! I may not fit in wearing my tshirt and jeans, but a girl can dream! This book has a little bit of everything with some romance, mystery, murder, high fashion, fancy masquerade parties, deception, loyalty, and betrayal.

Content Rating: PG-13+
• Profanity: None
• Intimacy: Moderate (There are a couple of scenes, including a “self-pleasure” scene, and some innuendos. They aren’t too detailed or explicit.)
• Violence: Moderate (There is a murder with a bloody weapon, and another character dies a very unsettling death.)

Charlie James is starting over. As a journalist for The Times, her first assignment is a piece about the eclectic Lady Ashworth, a socialite known for her philanthropy and wild parties. It is at her Circus Ball that Charlie's career as an investigative reporter is renewed when Maxime Marchand, Paris banker extraordinaire, is murdered. Milly, Marchand's ex-lover, recovers the knife from his neck, so of course, she is the prime suspect, along with Conrad Mackenzie, Lady Ashworth's assistant and independent photographer who was on assignment for The Times at the party. Mackenzie's sordid past soon turns him into the prime suspect, but Charlie knows something isn't right. The pieces aren't fitting together. Soon, it is up to Charlie to catch the murderer before someone else becomes a victim.

The Paris Mystery is a fun whodunit without a central detective. Instead, Manning focuses on the investigative prowess of a journalist, a female journalist at that. Today, female journalists are everywhere, but in 1939, they wrote fluff, and only until they were wed. Charlie James is different; she is divorced, far away from home, and full of knowledge beyond the society columns. Although she must earn her desk, she never wavers in her quest for truth and a good story. I look forward to more from Charlie James and Kirsty Manning.