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Reviewed by Charles Remington for Readers' Favorite
Unhappy that a university friend whom she believed she could love has drifted away, Isa convinces herself that marriage to his roommate would be a good match and allows herself to drift into an unsuitable wedding. A few unhappy years later, and having recovered from a nasty car accident, she determines to take back control of her life and, after a divorce, leaves the USA to spend the summer in France, the birthplace of her beloved grandmother. The Innkeeper at the Edge of Paris by J. Schlenker tells how checking into an old historic inn close to Paris, she is visited one night by the ghost of a previous owner, a ghost that looks remarkably like her. Determined to learn more about the apparition, she begins to investigate the history of the inn and discovers that she is not the only person to have seen the ghost. When the inn is engulfed by a cycling tour group the atmosphere changes, but the cyclists are quickly on their way again, leaving behind Daniel, a Scotsman with a damaged ankle. Personable and knowledgeable about France, he invites Isa on a train journey to Nice, a couple of hours away on the Mediterranean coast. Their relationship develops and the narrative follows their lives right up to a rather strange conclusion.
I was attracted to The Innkeeper on the Edge of Paris by the promise of a spooky ghost story set in a country that I am very fond of. I was not disappointed. It is a charming yarn, romantic and intriguing, and innovative in the way that J. Schlenker uses the flow of time within the narrative. The characters are fluent and well-drawn. The locations of Nice, Paris, New Orleans, and Scotland are brought to life with vivid descriptions. I enjoyed the book and remain impressed with J. Schlenker’s fertile imagination along with her inventive treatment of the novel’s timeline. I warmly recommend this book as a love story, a mystery, and a family saga.
