With one day left before the official publication of
The Versailles Formula, I would love to share the early reviews and endorsements from other novelists. Some are historical novelists, some are thriller writers, and some are historical mystery scribes. I deeply appreciate the time they took to read it and wanted to share the response to the book from my peers.
"Nancy Bilyeau's
Versailles Formula is the continuing compelling adventure of whip-smart and determined heroine Genevieve Planché. It’s replete with spies, political intrigue, gorgeous gothic manor houses, romance, impeccably researched history—and the shocking history of the color blue."
--Susan Elia MacNeal,
New York Times bestselling author of the
Maggie Hope series
"A plucky heroine, intriguing mystery, and rich, well-researched historical background. Nancy Bilyeau has found the winning formula!"
--Eva Stachniak, author of
The School of Mirrors
"Nancy Bilyeau has done it again. It is a masterful work which weaves great characters not to mention a plot that Poe himself would love. The story unfolds through the eyes of the protagonist and we see a treacherous world where nothing is as it seems. When we enter the Gothic world of Sir Horace Walpole then the reader treads a thrilling path which keeps you on the edge of your seat."
--Griff Hosker. author of An Officer and a Gentleman
"The excitement and action ramp up steadily, and Bilyeau's exquisite pacing will have you wanting to binge the novel in one sitting. Part espionage novel, part intriguing look at the historical importance of art and the porcelain industry to 18th-century diplomacy, The Versailles Formula is a riveting and deftly written tale that will keep you up much too late at night, for all the right reasons."
-- Paulette Kennedy, author of The Artist of Blackberry Grange
"Bilyeau gives the reader a fabulous tour of 18th-century Paris from its convents and opera houses to the louche masked balls of the aristocracy. Genevieve is a complicated, highly intelligent character who never falls into the dull predictability of the "spirited woman ahead of her time" tropes. The ending leaves the possibility open for another Genevieve Planche novel, and I very much look forward!"
-- Mariah Fredericks, author of The Wharton Plot
"In Genevieve Planché, Bilyeau has created a wonderfully wilful woman: as smart as she is sensitive, as brave as she is bold. Compelling to read . . . This is a series going from strength to strength."
--Kate Braithwaite, author of The Scandalous Life of Nancy Randolph
"An indomitable artist turned spy heroine on a near impossible mission. A color of blue so seductive that men will kill for it and countries will go to the brink of war. A star-crossed love, as delicious as it is forbidden. Thoroughly researched and exquisitely wrought, The Versailles Formula has all the ingredients of a rollicking, riveting historical mystery must-read!"
-- Hope C. Tarr, author of Irish Eyes and Stardust
"What impressed me the most is her gift for detailed description. When Genevieve lands in Paris to begin her dangerous mission, we can see the narrow streets with their buildings that 'sagged towards each other, nearly touching.' Inside the Comedie Française, we smell the 'thick, intoxicating swirl of perfume, a hothouse of human flowers blooming all at once.' And we can laugh at the absurdity of the nobility in their white silk socks, jeweled shoes, and heads covered in wigs that 'resemble sparkling beehives.' The Versailles Formula is a master class in the lost art of description, and I loved it for that."
--Jodi Daynard, author of A Transcontinental Affair
"With action-packed scenes to rival the classic The Scarlet Pimpernel, Nancy Bilyeau's excellent third book in the Genevieve Planché series, The Versailles Formula, solicits page-turning suspense until the very end. Reader, be ready for the world outside of reading this book to disappear."
-- Susan Wands, author of Magician and Fool
"Nancy Bilyeau's engaging protagonist, Genevieve Planché, returns in an undercover mission to 18th-century Paris, where she risks her life to unearth a secret that could reignite war between England and France. But Genevieve’s quest is as personal as it is political — Cracks have begun to form in her once-happy marriage, and she finds herself drawn to the man assigned to be her partner in France. With a cast of real and fictional figures, prose as smooth as French silk, and breathtaking twists, The Versailles Formula is exactly the book any lover of historical fiction would want to have in their hands right now."
-- Mally Becker, author of The Paris Mistress
"Thanks to the depth of Bilyeau’s craft, readers will share Genevieve’s tension and fear as she races through settings from rough, working-class Southwark to glittering Versailles. As Genevieve’s heart races, so will yours. If you like your mystery with twisty, dark history, The Versailles Formula is for you."
-- Sophie Perinot, author of Medicis Daughter
"Sumptuous and deeply engaging, Nancy Bilyeau's Versailles Formula is a gorgeously written adventure . . . brimming with mystery, beauty, romance, and history's most fascinating luminaries."
--Emilya Naymark, author of
Behind the Lie"The action takes place in England and France, castles and cemeteries and chateaux, grand ballrooms, sinister prisons, and cloistered convents. Historical figures flit through, from Horace Walpole, the father of the Gothic novel, to the Marquis de Sade, who lived one.
The Versailles Formula is Bilyeau at her best, a classic tale of mystery and intrigue that only lacks a cameo from a dueling D'Artagnan to make my life complete. If you've read the first two books in the series, this is one you've been eagerly awaiting. If you haven't, this is a hellacious introduction."
--Timothy Miller, author of
The Strange Case of the Pharaoh's Heart.
"
The Versailles Formula takes readers on a fascinating journey to eighteenth-century England and France, where vicious aristocrats play a deadly game of forgery and espionage . . . Nancy Bilyeau treats us to another tale full of intrigue and delightful historical details."
-- Mark Alpert, bestselling author of
The Doomsday Show
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