The Jazz Age — the roaring twenties. Man-about-town, Bedford Green, arrives at his art gallery to find his assistant, Sloan, in tears. When asked what is wrong, she hands him a postcard and tells him she wants to go to Paris.

Sloan is not a weepy, emotional woman. She is independent, sensible, smart, logical and has excellent control of her emotions. Something serious has caused Sloan’s current behaviour. That something is the postcard she’s received from a close friend. The image is a bizarre likeness of the lady with an unusual message: “Doulour. Le denier cri.” Is it a cry for help?

Bedford winds up going to Paris to find Sloan’s friend and to find out what is going on. The trail he follows leads to meeting up with Picasso, Hemingway and his wife, the Fitzgeralds and others of that era, as he searches for the missing lady.

It is a fun read, set in an interesting era. The first of a series. ( )

Former newspaper columnist turned art dealer Bedford Green travels from jazz age New York City to Paris to the French Riviera and back again in search of his art gallery partner Sloane Smith's missing aspiring artist friend. Along the way he mingles with some of the most famous artists and writers of the time, who are portrayed thoughtfully and with attention to detail,

The core mystery is expertly written, and the descriptions of people and places involved perfectly compliment the story. Having such a large number of well known people in the story could be risky, but Kilian skillfully avoids saccharine idolization.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Nice to meet you, Bedford Green. Looking forward to hearing much more from and about you.

**eARC netgalley** ( )

Cozy mysteries are not a frequent read for me. However, I am so glad I read The Weeping Woman. Set in the 1920's there are characters that are showy, unique, down-to-earth, interesting and sinister. The leading character, Bedford Green, is a charming lady's man, a gambler, a drinker and owns a struggling art gallery. The plot had me turning pages as fast as I could read them and I never guessed who was the culprit. I didn't even have a guess.

Bedford Green needs to go to France on an art buying trip. His assistant, Sloane, receives a post card from a friend who is in France. The picture on the card shows a sad, lonely tearful woman and is signed "Fou" (crazy). The picture is her college friend Polly. She asks Bedford to help her find Polly in France because her intuition tells her something is very, very wrong.

All Polly ever wanted to be was an artist, so they plunge into the art scene in Paris. The trail to find out where Polly is is a long one and takes them all over the countryside. It is also filled with danger and Bedford finds himself on the losing end of a couple of battles.

The story line is a good one with all kinds of leads and possibilities. I highly recommend this book to any mystery fans. This is the first in the Bedford Green mystery series. Michael Kilian also wrote the Dick Tracy comic strip beginning in 1993.

I received this ebook free from the publisher for review purposes. ( )