An American in Paris

I have no idea where I heard about this book and I didn’t really know what it was about when I went into it, so I was surprised that I ended up loving it as much as I did. It was a quiet kind of book, the kind that just tugs you along until you’re in so deep that you don’t know what hit you.

Grace lives in Paris working as an under-the-table employee at a somewhat shady restoration shop. She’s an American and she’s been hiding out and keeping a low profile ever since her friends got busted carrying out a heist she helped plan. She carries a lot of guilt about the past and a lot of fear for her future. It’s been three years and the boys who served the time she didn’t have to have just been released from prison. She just knows they’re going to track her down and has no idea what will happen when they do.

It’s like Rebecca Scherm wrote this book with me in mind. There are so many things in my wheelhouse that come into play in Unbecoming: art history, thieves, intricate plotting, slow burn suspense, close-knit groups of friends, secret identities, unlikable female characters, meditative explorations of character, etc. Plus, Scherm’s writing is deliciously good. I’m amazed that this is a debut novel. Can’t wait to read whatever she writes next.