Reviews

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

concernedfern's review

adventurous informative mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

eeclayton's review against another edition

informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Magnolia Palace is novel of historical fiction with a dual timeline. In 1919, a famous artists' model, who is on the run after a scandal, ends up in the Frick house as a private secretary. In 1966, an inexperienced British model finds herself stranded in the Frick palace during a severe snowstorm after a photoshoot has gone awry. The two stories are interconnected, with each chapter uncovering clues to the overall mystery. 
The plot was promising and kept me turning the pages, although I found the 1919 storyline much more compelling. The author had created an incredible sense of place, and it was great to read about what it might be like to live among so many pieces of art. 
Sadly, the last quarter of the book and especially the ending were quite disappointing for me. It made me angry when a character discovered something but the author hid this from the reader by skipping over part of a talk (

between Lillian and Bertha

), but I could have forgiven this, had the ending made more sense.

While the mystery was solved and had a meaningful closure, how the characters arrived at said ending was totally unbelievable (with everyone tagging along on a quick road tip minutes after the blackout was over, and then people very quickly got along after not having talked for almost 50 years; also, nobody could find Angelica in 1919, but 50 years later all it took for an intern to locate her was a phonecall?)

All in all, it was an okay read, but it could have been so much more with a better ending. 

carolita1128's review

emotional funny informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

literarycat26's review

mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.5

siren_of_the_stars's review

dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

abbyhumphries's review

5.0

A fantastic read. Drew me in immediately and made me fall in love with Manhattan even more. Very complex and lovable characters in a home rich with history, art and scandal.

yankeebk's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

3.5

rebeccadaisy_'s review

4.0

This book was picked to read by my local book club for our April read.

I will admit that this genre isn’t something I would normally pick up nor would I read if someone mentioned it. However, I have been pushing myself out of my comfort zone and I can say I’m quite happy I read it.

At first I was a bit confused with the jumping back and forth between time periods, but was pleasantly surprised at how well they came together. The ending had definitely thrown me for a loop. I was sure I had figured out who did the crime but atlas, I was wrong and surprised.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of mystery and the game clue. It was a lovely read and I will be checking out more books by Fiona Davis.

tannjackson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nikel98's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.75