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2-1/2 /5

There are aspects of this book that are just too implausible.

NYC �� 1919 �� Lillian Carter aka Angelica, artist model falls on hard times. Work is drying up and Lillian has trouble paying the rent and then finds herself a suspect in the death of her landlord’s wife. On the run with aspirations of getting to Hollywood to become an actress she lands up, purely by accident at the door of the Frick mansion where they are expecting an applicant for the job of private Secretary to the imperious Helen Frick. Lillian is mistaken for that person and allows herself to be taken in for an interview whereupon she gets the job having no experience whatsoever. Within a few weeks she becomes almost indispensable to the family.

NYC �� 1966 �� Veronica Weber, British model is part of a photo shoot at the former Frick Mansion. She gets into a tiff with the photographer and is left behind by the company. She is alone in the mansion during a snow storm and a total blackout but is able to find her way around this massive cavern of a house with the aid of a candle (which she miraculously finds a match to light it). Shortly thereafter she finds she is not alone �� Joshua �� a part time employee joins her and they spend the time in the mansion finding clues that have been hidden for many years. All during a total blackout.

I mostly enjoyed learning about the Frick Museum and the Art Library.

The personal relationships, not so much.

The tie up at the end is just too neat and happy.

This is not this author’s finest moment.