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4.5 shining stars for this well done historical fiction masterpiece! I listened to the audiobook of The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis that was pleasantly narrated by Karissa Vacker. Fiona Davis�� novels notoriously are centered around a well known landmark in New York City. The Magnolia Palace was no exception. It brought the vibrant and complicated history of the Frick mansion, which later became a museum, to life. She brilliantly embraced the history of the Frick and portrayed it as another character in her novel as she revealed its charm, secrets and extravagance throughout its pages. The Magnolia Palace was a family saga that focused on family fortune, art masterpieces, loss, long kept secrets and unique family dynamics. It was also about murder, betrayal and personal struggles. It was extremely well written and the characters were well developed and rich. It was based on the Frick family members and Audrey Munson, a sculpture’s model. It was written in alternating time lines, switching back and forth between 1919 and 1966. There was just the right balance of fact and fiction to make The Magnolia Palace a delight to read.

In 1919, the Spanish Flu was spreading, attacking and killing. Lillian Carter, better known as Angelica, then a twenty-one year old artist’s model, knew this flu well. It had taken her mother from her. At one point, Angelica had been a much sought after artist’s model but work had seemed to have dried up recently. She was having a hard time making ends meet. Angelica was behind on the rent. The super of her apartment building was making inappropriate advances toward her that she had was trying to ignore. Angelica sent him a note that explained her situation and her intentions to ignore his advances. That innocent note led the police to question Angelica when the super’s wife was found murdered. When the police came to question Angelica and she realized they thought of her as a suspect in the murder, she escaped from her apartment through a window and down the fire escape. Her whole life felt that it had been upended, beginning with her mother’s death and now with this untrue accusation of murder. Angelica was desperate. As she ran for her life, Angelica happened to stumble upon an employment opportunity at the Frick Mansion. Unbeknownst to Angelica, Helen, the daughter of the wealthy industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick, was interviewing candidates for the position of her own personal secretary. Angelica was mistaken for one of the candidates to be interviewed and was ushered into the Frick mansion and offered tea as she waited. Miss Helen, as she liked to be called, hired Angelica that day. Angelica became the personal secretary of Miss Helen and became known as Miss Lilly to all concerned. She was safe, at least for now. Her life was about to evolve in a way that she never could have imagined, though.

Fifty years later in 1966, a young and inexperienced English model, Veronica Weber, found herself at the Frick museum for a photo shoot. The Frick mansion had been transformed into an impressive museum. Henry Clay Frick had bestowed his home to the city of New York with instructions to transform it into a museum, upon his death. Veronica, inexperienced, a bit stubborn and intimidated by the other models and the photographer, would not acquiesce to the demands and whims of the temperamental photographer. As a result, she found herself being dismissed from the shoot. When she emerged from the room where she had put on her own clothes, she soon realized that everyone had left without her and she was now locked in at the Frick. Veronica was not alone, though. Down in the confines of the basement, Joshua, a young black art curator intern, had fallen asleep while researching information about the Frick family. He was locked in as well. There was also a major snowstorm happening outside. Veronica and Joshua were stranded in the Frick. It would be days until someone would finally discover their whereabouts. With nothing to do, Veronica began to explore the Frick. Veronica came across an old scavenger hunt that someone had made probably decades ago. There were lots of clues. Veronica convinced Joshua to help her unravel the clues of the scavenger hunt. Together they completed the scavenger hunt and discovered something that had been thought lost or stolen for decades. Could Veronica and Joshua unearth clues to a murder that occurred in the Frick mansion decades ago? Would they be able to unravel the truth to what really happened at the Frick mansion all those years ago?

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis was captivating and intriguing. It was a thrilling mystery that centered around the Frick mansion. It was brilliantly executed in alternating POV between the two women protagonists. Fiona Davis wove the two time lines only to have them converge into a most satisfying ending. I have enjoyed reading all of Fiona Davis’s books and this one was no exception. I look forward to her next book and highly recommend this book.