The Paris Key

Praise for
The Paris Key

“In her latest novel, Juliet Blackwell offers a compelling story line with a charming protagonist and a deep well of family secrets, all gorgeously set in the City of Lights. The sights and smells of Blackwell's Paris lingered long after I turned the last page.
The Paris Key
is an absorbing homage to family, friendship, and, of course, the greatest city in the world.”

—international bestselling author Michelle Gable

“In this witty, warm, winsome novel, Blackwell draws back the curtain on Paris's complex past while celebrating its vibrant present. Her generation-spanning tale combines intrigue and passion with a flawless ear for language and a gift for sensory detail. If
The Paris Key
doesn't make a Francophile of you, nothing will!”

—Sophie Littlefield

“A gorgeously plotted novel woven with luminescent charm,
The Paris Key
gleams as brightly as the city herself.”

—Rachael Herron

Praise for
New York Times
Bestselling Author Juliet Blackwell

“[Juliet Blackwell's] writing style made me feel as though I was with each character, sharing emotions, actions, and anticipating the next moves. When I find an author who can provide this much reader involvement, I put her on my ‘must-read' list.”

—MyShelf.com

“Juliet Blackwell sits firmly on my list of must-read authors!”

—Victoria Laurie

Also by Juliet Blackwell

THE WITCHCRAFT MYSTERY SERIES

Secondhand Spirits

A Cast-off Coven

Hexes and Hemlines

In a Witch's Wardrobe

Tarnished and Torn

A Vision in Velvet

Spellcasting in Silk

THE HAUNTED HOME RENOVATION MYSTERY SERIES

If Walls Could Talk

Dead Bolt

Murder on the House

Home for the Haunting

Keeper of the Castle

NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY

Published by New American Library,

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

This book is an original publication of New American Library.

Copyright © Julie Goodson-Lawes, 2015

Readers Guide copyright © Penguin Random House, 2015

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Blackwell, Juliet.

The Paris key / Juliet Blackwell.

pages cm.

ISBN 978-0-698-18603-3

1. Women—France—Paris—Fiction. 2. Life change events—Fiction. 3. Family secrets—Fiction. 4. Domestic fiction. I. Title.

PS3602.L32578P37 2015

813'.6—dc23 2015009372

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To Sophie
“Get 'er done.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks are due to my wonderful editor, Kerry Donovan, who shares my love of Paris and encouraged me to write a standalone novel set in that incomparable city. To my incredible agent, Jim McCarthy: Thank you for having my back and for your unstinting enthusiasm—I can't wait to see where we go next!

And most of all, to the incomparable City of Lights, and to those who make me feel so welcome in France: the staff of the charming Hôtel Saint-Paul le Marais, my home away from home.
Merci beaucoup à
Madame Michèle Stauffenegger; Marie-Louise, Marie-Pierre,
et
Jean Michel Dartevel; Philippe Berrard and Catherine Dargaud of Haut Bana Winery; Olivier Daridon
et tout la famille
; Remy and Genevieve Bonnet of Bonnet-Huteau Vignerons; Francis Unique and his beautiful family; Liliane and Corrine Garde of Château Haut-Goujon; Marie Claude and David Chauveau of the Domaine de Beausejour; and Daniel Hecquet of Le Logis des Ségur. Special thanks also to
la famille
LaCroix, and to Marc-Antoine Stauffenegger, his guitar, and his entire family for unforgettable summer nights of wine and song. And speaking of wine and song . . . thanks to Aux Trois Mailletz cabaret, which we never seem to manage to leave before the sun comes up, no matter how we try.

To Carolyn Lawes, sister and friend, unfailing support, and muse. Words aren't adequate to express what you mean to me, and to my writing. And what is a writer without a writer's circle? Many, many thanks to Rachael Herron, Sophie Littlefield, Mysti Berry, Victoria Laurie, Gigi Pandian, Nicole Peeler, Adrienne Miller, Martha White, Lynn Coddington, and Lisa Hughey. I can't believe I get to rub shoulders with such talented, beautiful, funny, smart women.

To Maddee James and Jen Forbus with Xuni Designs—thank you for the beauty, and the friendship. And to my chosen family: Bee Enos, Anna Cabrera, Mary Grae, Susan Baker, Kendall Moalem, Bruce Nikolai, Shay Demetrius, Suzanne Chan, Pamela Groves, Jan Strout, Wanda Klor, Cathy Romero, Chris Logan, and Brian Casey. And to the entire Mira Vista Social Club, especially Sara Paul, Dan Krewson, and Oscar and his crew. There could be no better neighbors.

Thanks to Jordan H. for allowing me to follow him around while he picked locks. I'm still not much good at it, but I have a newfound appreciation for how hard it is! And to Glenview Lock and Key for their generosity to our elderly neighbors through the Rebuilding Together project—and to putting up with my incessant questions. To Karen Smyers, Jungian therapist and anthropologist extraordinaire, for the analysis of Fitcher's Bird and discussions of sand tables and dream therapy. And to the Basque Library of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Much gratitude to Amy Vaudreuil for tracking down the source of the Victor Hugo quote used in the epigraph, which was taken from his notes on the city of Paris rather than from one of his novels. It was driving me crazy!

To Robert Lawes, whose strength and indomitable spirit continues to amaze and inspire me. This past year has been something of a rough road, but you've tackled it like the motorcycle-riding, downhill-skiing, jet-piloting former Marine you are. To my sister Susan Lawes, who taught me an early love of reading, and who remains a tireless cheerleader for my writing.

To my son Sergio Roberto, who has become a loving, deeply thoughtful man who works hard for what he believes in. Thank you for making me, always and ever, an exceedingly proud mama.

And finally, many special thanks to Eric Paul Stauffenegger, for his editing of the French in this book . . . and for so very much more than that: Thank you for welcoming me to your native country, and into your heart.
Merci pour l'amour et la joie et la amitié. Et le vin! Encore et toujours . . .