Tangled Web UK Review December 2000
The Knowledge of Water by
Sarah Smith
pbk out October 00
(Arrow)
at £5.99
Paris in 1910 and the Seine is rising, overflowing its banks. Gifted pianist Perdita Halley is attending the Conservatoire and is on the brink of launching her career as a concert pianist but her passion for secret lover Alexander von Reisden threatens to destroy her lifelong ambitions. There are secrets in Reisden's past too that make him dread the future. When a prostitute known as the Mona Lisa is murdered, Reisden receives a letter asking that he give her a decent burial and becomes involved with the police in trying to catch the killer. But the madman is stalking the lovers too, set on retribution. A forger is copying paintings by one of the great
Impressionists and there is a plan afoot to steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre.
Smith blends fact, fiction and speculation to create a vivid, lushly
detailed and captivating story. The intricate plots are skilfully woven
around the complex characters and the writing is intelligent and evocative
with a fine sense of menace. The themes of the obsessive nature of art, the
compulsion of passion and the dilemma of a woman forced to choose between
the two are expertly handled and address current concerns. The picture of
the rain-soaked city, particularly the Seine, is magnificent, as the
floodwaters rise the raging water itself reflects the mounting madness and
danger that threatens to engulf Perdita and Reisden.
Manchester Evening News 27.10.00
(
Cath Staincliffe
- Author of the highly acclaimed Sal Kilkenny Mysteries set on the Mean Streets of Manchester)
