The Gargoyle in the Seine — Dee Garretson

The City of Light has a very dark side. Art student Clary Ashton can't imagine a more perfect spot to study painting than Paris in the spring of 1878, until she witnesses a body thrown into the Seine, the body of Liam Heaton, another art student with a mysterious background. What Clary thinks is murder becomes much more as Liam's secrets come to light, exposing the secrets of those she thought she knew.

Clary finds herself drawn into a world she didn't realize existed, one spanning both the murky underworld and the glittering salons of the city. And when she is caught between two dangerous men - a political extremist days away from a royal assassination, and the young intrepid British secret agent who is determined to stop him - Clary doesn't know who to trust. She does know that if she doesn't find the murderer, she may become a victim herself.

Word count: 87,000, Book club reader's guide included