The Lost Carousel of Provence

The Lost Carousel of Provence by Juliet Blackwell   384 pages

From the first moment I saw the title of this novel, I wanted to read it. I received an advanced reader’s copy via Netgallery.com, but since I don’t have an eReader, the folks at Berkley Publishing were kind enough to send me a print copy.

When I read the back copy, the deal was sealed. What reader could resist “An artist lost to history, a family abandoned to its secrets, and the woman who discovers it all?” I was hooked, and the story did not disappoint. This is the book I’ll be talking about probably for the rest of the year.

The story goes like this: Cady Drake is alone in the world. A victim of California’s foster care system, she has a tough time getting close to people. There are only two people whom she trusts, her benefactor, Maxine, and a friend, Olive. Cady barely scrapes by as a local photographer, shooting school pictures, weddings, etc.  She is thrust into a spiral when Maxine suddenly dies. Cady owns an antiques carousel figure, Gus the Rabbit, whom she believes is the work of 20^th century master carver Gutave Bayol. If it is, it would be worth quite a sum. But antiques dealers assure her it is not. One night Cady accidentally breaks Gus. Inside she finds a wooden box. That box changes Cady’s life forever.

Told in dueling timelines, author Blackwell weaves a tale that had me ignoring my family, sending them out for fast food, as I read. The story bounces around from Oakland, California to Paris and other areas of France. It’s a story that transports readers from present day to 1900 to the early 2000s, and other years as they fit the story. It’s a tale of crumbling chateaus, undiscovered treasures, a mysterious photograph, and a surprising twist.

“The Lost Carousel of Provence” received 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.