Treasure of Saint Lazare by John Pearce

 

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Sharon Fawley for Readers' Favorite: "Treasure of Saint-Lazare", by John Pearce, is a mystery about events far distant in time and space that profoundly affect the peaceful life of a wealthy American businessman living in Paris." 

"... Pearce weaves richly textured descriptions of life in Paris through an intricate plot with believable, well-drawn characters." "Overall, this is a satisfying mystery, a surprising love story, and an up close look into the dark days of Europe as WWII drew to a close." Reviewer: "One thing I loved about this book is that the author beautifully describes Paris in a very romantic way, and its description appears seamless within the story." 

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About the Novel: 
An older lover brings a cryptic letter to Paris, pulling Eddie Grant reluctantly into a treacherous web of intrigue and death -- but giving him a slim chance to find the terrorists who murdered his family seven years before. . It launches him on a dangerous quest through Paris and the Loire Valley for the most valuable piece of Nazi loot that remains missing, a famous Raphael self-portrait from the early 16th century, along with the crates of Nazi bullion that accompanied it -- all intended to finance the Fourth Reich. 

 Jen Wetzmuller, daughter of his father"s World War II colleague in Army Intelligence, arrives in Paris, bearing a letter she found after her father was run down by a car on the streets of Sarasota. Its clues take Eddie from his Paris home to Florida, where he works to solve the mystery, barely escaping with his life. Then it"s back home to burrow into the darkest reaches of the German occupation in search of the treasure. Along the way he and Jen restart the brief, fiercely passionate affair that he abandoned, to his regret, 20 years before Sarasota.  Most of all, Treasure of Saint-Lazare is a novel about Paris. 

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John Pearce: "Treasure of Saint-Lazare is based on fact, the theft in 1939 of the priceless Raphael painting "Portrait of a Young Man," which disappeared in 1945.  Even though it covers much ground -- from my current home of Sarasota, FL, to my part-time home of Paris, to Poland during the war, it is at heart a novel of Paris." 

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About the Author 
John Pearce is a part-time Parisian, but lives quite happily most of the the year in Sarasota, Florida.  He worked as a journalist in Washington and Europe, where he covered economics for the International Herald Tribune and edited a business magazine. After a business career in Sarasota, he spends his days working on his future books - a sequel he expects to publish later in 2014 and a prequel after that. For several months each year, he and his wife Jan live in Paris, walking its streets, and chase down interesting settings for future books and his blog, JohnPearceAuthor.com. They lived earlier in Frankfurt, Germany, which gave him valuable insights for several of the scenes in his sequel, whose working title is Last Stop: Paris. 
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Treasure of Saint-Lazare:  
Paperback, 296 pages, 115 customer reviews, $13.46 http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Saint-Lazare-John-Pearce/dp/0985962615 

Kindle e-Book, Countdown Deal, from $0.99  Regular $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Saint-Lazare-John-Pearce-ebook/dp/B009MD6EM4

The audio version of Treasure of Saint-Lazare has been released on Audible.com and Amazon.com, $17.95.  

You can hear a sample and order it at  http://j.mp/12mxGb2 

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Free Entrance at the Best Museums in Paris

Paris is undoubtedly one of world’s cities with the most important museums of historical and contemporary art and architecture.  Not only the recently opened, eye-catching feats of modern architecture in the world, the Louis Vuitton art museum, but dozens of outstanding, world-wide known places enchant locals and visitors alike. 


Get your Paris Pass
Free Metro Travelcard & Entry to 60+ Attractions 
It’s your all-in-one package and will save you time, money and stress, providing you everything you need to discover Paris!  

Examples of Paris Pass Benefits:
Free Entry to The Louvre Museum with the Paris Pass.  Normal Entry Price: Adult: €12.00
Home to hundreds of thousands of classic and modern masterpieces, the Louvre is the icing on the cake of French culture and a testament to European art history – it’s not surprising that it’s also the most visited art gallery in the world!

Centre Pompidou   
The National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou houses one of Europe's most important collections of contemporary art.

Musée d'Orsay  
The Musée d'Orsay's light, airy rooms guide you through three floors of amazing modern art, from Degas' ethereal dancers to Monet's water lilies, all the way to Gaugin's leafy jungles. Major works by Van Gogh, Delacroix, Manet, and others are shown too.

Museum of Modern Art of Paris - Picasso Museum   
Contemporary art buffs will enjoy a visit of the city of Paris' museum of modern art, created in 1961 and housed in the distinctive Palais de Tokyo. The terrace outside the palace allows a striking view of the Eiffel Tower.

Rodin Museum   
In addition to Rodin’s iconic works such "The Thinker", the museum hosts an extensive sculpture garden that's a true pleasure to explore.

Carnavalet Museum   
Pay a visit to the Carnavalet Museum. Housed within the walls of two Renaissance-era mansions, the Hotel de Carnavalet and the Hotel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.  The Musee Carnavalet in Paris includes an ornate garden.

Musée du Luxembourg   
Situated on the stately grounds of the Luxembourg Gardens, this museum is one of Europe's oldest, and was opened in 1750 as France's first state-run collection of paintings.

Musee Jacquemart-André  
This is another lesser-known gem in the Paris arts scene that focuses on masterpieces in 18th century painting. 

Louis Vuitton Art Museum    
The hyper-modern ship-like museum building opened its doors on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne park, on Monday in a glitzy ceremony attended by French president François Hollande.
Designed by architect Frank Gehry, known for designing the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum building in Bilbao, Spain, the striking structure boasts 12 glass sails which billow around the museum's main building - nicknamed 'the iceberg'.

There are certainly many more places for historical and modern art lovers to explore in Paris.  Which one is YOUR favored museum?

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Shakespeare and Company, Paris

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Every writer has heard about this bookstore in Paris, some have even bunked there, lots of articles have been written, from Wikipedia to The Guardian, but the most interesting story can be found at several pages of the current issue of Vanity Fair magazine.
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Twice the Same Name
It all started with the first store and library in 1919, named "Shakespeare and Company" by the founder Sylvia Beach, an American expatriate.  Her bookstore and lending library became a hangout for Lost Generation writers such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce, whose Ulysses was first published in its complete form by Sylvia Beach because authorities in Britain and America deemed it obscene. She closed up shop during the Nazi occupation and never re-opened.
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New Bookstore in 1951
Years later, another American, George Whitman, opened the present store at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, near Place Saint-Michel, just steps from the Seine, Notre Dame and the Île de la Cité. 
The shop has become a popular tourist attraction, even Frank Sinatra bought books there, and was featured in the Richard Linklater film Before Sunset and in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Jacques Chirac were later customers too.  "Shakespeare and Company" and the late owner George Whitman have been the subject of Portrait of a Bookstore as an Old Man, a 2003 documentary film.
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Famous Writers
Writers who logged time at the current "Shakespeare and Company", sometimes even sleeping there, include Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, Lawrence Durrell, Anaïs Nin, James Jones, and Ray Bradbury.  
Sylvia Whitman, the founders daughter, continues to run the store in the same manner as her father, allowing young writers to live and work there. Nathan Englander, the American novelist, was even married here in 2012.  Do read the companys "Le Blog" about current events.
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Characterizations by Writers

• C. J. Flood, a British writer whose first young-adult novel was published earlier this year: “I didn’t get as much writing done during my time there as I intended, but I certainly felt like a writer.”
• Dave Eggers:  “an absurd place—almost down to the last crooked corner and narrow staircase, it was the bookstore of my dreams.”
• Ethan Hawke: “It is definitely Dionysus’s favorite bookstore.” 

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What a Personality!
Lots of fun to read in Vanity Fair about the life of the late George Whitman, such as when he saved a writer who ran from the Riot Police in Paris after a demonstration, or how he arrived in Paris after serving during the war as a medic in Greenland. Whitman came to Paris in 1946 to study at the Sorbonne on the G.I. Bill, and used his G.I. book vouchers to start a lending library, but also started selling books.  When he opened the Shakespeare and Company bookstore he mentioned to his parents: "a niche where I can safely look upon the world’s horror and beauty.”
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A MUST When Visiting Paris
After reading the Vanity Fair feature In a Bookstore in Paris, about George Whitman and his literature obsession, you might as well buy a ticket to fly over and visit "Shakespeare and Company".  For sure more fun than ordering e-books online.  

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Ominous: Borders: Coffee

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Set in PARIS, this thriller surges ominously through the psyche of modern Europe. Conflict is rife; danger is everywhere. You will be tempted to trawl through Paris, to drink in the bars, or smoke on dark street corners. Be warned… watch your back… Inspector Vasseur has his favorite table on a battered sidewalk.
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Alone he sits on hot summer nights, allowing his instincts to grapple with the mysterious case of innocent deaths along the River Seine. In other parts of the city, the Stalker trails her female targets, hell-bent on seduction; the Baker clings to his French traditions despite the temptations of the world around him; two beautiful women set up a coffee society – one leaves the prison of her insular creativity and the other relishes life in all its forms.
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An obsessive and beautiful classical violinist is pitted against a malevolent killer; it’s summer in Europe and the cafés and bistros hum with robust and colorful activity. 

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They bring out the very evil in some, and the pursuit of romance in others. In this tightly plotted novel, borders are stormed, emotional, sexual, and psychotic; and borders weave danger around lovers of coffee, the creative, and the finest of foods.  Discover why author Peter Standish Evans holds a deserved and special place among the new breed of thriller writers. Ominous: Borders: Coffee will be a dog-eared and red wine stained addition to your book collection!

Ominous: Borders: Coffee is available in print and digital

               

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About the Author:
Despite leaving the “fine art of facts” to scientists, both poetry and fiction remain his constant companions. He is an ardent reader, and now enjoys writing full time.

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Peter Standish Evans has two children, and divides his time somewhat equally between Europe and South Africa. He holds a degree in English Literature from Natal University and a Masters from Witwatersrand University.  Read more about the thriller author at SavvyBookWriters.

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