Tiffany Blues

by M. J. Rose

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Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Atria Books (August 7, 2018)

The New York Times bestselling author of The Library of Light and Shadow crafts a dazzling Jazz Age jewel—a novel of ambition, betrayal, and passion about a young painter whose traumatic past threatens to derail her career at a prestigious summer artists’ colony run by Louis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany & Co. fame. “[M.J. Rose] transports the reader into the past better than a time machine could accomplish” (The Associated Press).

New York, 1924. Twenty-four-year-old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s prestigious artists’ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid distractions and romantic entanglements and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall.

But Jenny’s past has followed her to Long Island. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, waterfalls, and murder, and the dank hallways of Canada’s notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jenny’s thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffany’s charismatic grandson.

As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffany’s New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone knows enough about Jenny’s childhood trauma to expose her.

Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and stolen jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jenny’s past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her promising future, her love, her friendships, and her very life.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I tried to make my voice light. My mother once told me I had a silver voice that tarnished when I wasn’t giving her the whole truth.

I’ve just always viewed marriage as a job, and it’s not the job I want for myself in the foreseeable future.

I felt as if I’d stepped inside a jewelry box. Everything shone and sparkled and glowed in gemstone shades

We’re all broken in one way or another, but it’s through the cracks in our souls that the light comes through. And the light, Jenny, that’s our art.

My Review:

Tiffany Blues wasn’t at all what I was expecting, and more the better. This was my first exposure to M.J. Rose and I now count myself her newest fan. Her clever combinations of words deftly painted rich and opulent pictures, equivalent in skill and technique to any of the Old Masters. My curiosity was quickly snagged by the intriguing prologue and continued forth as an ominous and haunting ambiance of tension, danger, and potential exposure of long-hidden secrets remained throughout, which kept me on edge and nibbling at my cuticles. The writing was lushly detailed with colorful and lavish descriptions of the well-appointed accommodations, feasts, gardens, and elegant clothing and décor. The storylines were gradually developed yet well-crafted, engaging, tragic, and captivating.

I cannot imagine the amount of research involved in such an undertaking but I reveled in the fruits of her labor as I enjoyed learning many interesting little tidbits and history of the time as I was unaware of the trendy interest in spiritualism, the history of Ouija boards, and of Thomas Edison’s Spirit Phone – which I Googled to be certain, and he had actually labored with other scientists of the day toward “a telephone that calls beyond this realm to reach people who have passed.” Nearing the end, I began to fret with increasing alarm that my niggling questions would be left unanswered. Silly me, I sighed a satisfied and relaxing breath at the clever conclusion. Well-played Ms. Rose, “there is beauty even in broken things.”

About M. J. Rose

New York Times bestselling author M. J. Rose grew up in New York City exploring the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum and the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park. She is the author of more than a dozen novels, a founding board member of International Thriller Writers, and the founder of the first marketing company for authors, AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.