Synopses & Reviews
A highly praised debut novel of
psychological suspense about a daring art heist, a cat-and-mouse waiting
game, and a small-town girl’s mesmerizing transformation
On
the grubby outskirts of Paris, Grace restores bric-a-brac, mends
teapots, and resets gems. She calls herself Julie, says she’s from
California, and slips back to a rented room at night. In truth, home is
Garland, Tennessee, where two young men have just been paroled. Both
were jailed for a crime that Grace planned. The heist went bad — but not
before she was on a plane to Prague, contraband in her bag. As Grace’s
web of deception unravels, she begins a cat-and-mouse game that echoes
the best of Alfred Hitchcock and Patricia Highsmith and is sure to
appeal to fans of The Girl on the Train.
Review
“Scherm mixes a character study with caper novel full of double-crosses, lies, and betrayals.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Scherm’s debut has a plot that twists and turns, but it is the enigma
of who Grace really is that will keep readers hooked until the very end.
A bleak tone, deeply flawed protagonist, and dysfunctional
relationships will draw well-deserved comparisons to Gillian Flynn.” Library Journal
Review
“This lively debut combines a knotty coming-of-age tale and a
high-society caper. . . . Scherm is at her best when she is parsing the
fumblings of a young woman trying to devise a persona in the world.” The New Yorker
Review
“In this inventive first novel, Rebecca Scherm introduces us to Julie
from California, who’s really Grace from Tennessee and a first-class
jewel thief. This gifted artist has made her way to Paris, where she
works for a shady antiques restorer, turning out objets d’art that are
exquisite fakes. Grace could always reform, but ‘the high that raced up
and down her’ after she steals some diamonds is a thrill she can’t give
up.” Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Rebecca Scherm is a graduate of New York University and the Helen
Zell Writers Program at the University of Michigan. Her work has
appeared in The New York Times, Jezebel, The Toast, Subtropics, and elsewhere. She lives in Michigan, where she is at work on her second novel.