This is a well-written murder mystery/police procedural with hints of a possible romance taking place in an old theater in Paris. What's not to love? Roche and Aria have the sparking chemistry that works so well as colleagues that could potentially be something more someday, and the secondary characters add depth to the unity of the team of detectives. I loved every moment spent in this novel (because I felt like I was there and offered invaluable help and guidance) and I can only hope that this is the start to a series because I definitely want more of Roche and Aria.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of The Curtain Falls in Paris!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🇫🇷 have ever wanted to visit Paris
🎭 enjoy watching plays
🔪 love a good murder mystery
🌪️ like a lot of twists in your novels

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Aria Nevins, formerly a respected American journalist, with her reputation ruined by a serious lapse in judgment leading to a woman’s death, has fled to a questionable job in Paris. She’s embedded with top French homicide detective Noah Roche and his team for one week; her task is to follow them and write about their work. 

Roche is suspicious of her motives, and she finds herself fighting for credibility while trying to gain access to every aspect of a murder investigation. The problem? Each member of the play’s star-filled cast and crew is a suspect in this shocking and grisly crime. 

The case is marred by false leads, an attempted murder at the theater, old loyalties, and obstacles placed in their path by entitled theater luminaries, and it’s a race against time to find the killer.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

Such a fun murder mystery! The action gets started right away with the murder occurring in the first chapter which is always a must for me! I need something that will quickly draw me into a story and keep my attention. The attention to detail in the way the author talks about Paris was incredible as well - I felt like I was really there! The twists in this story just keep coming, and when you think you’ve got it all figured out, whoops, no you don’t! I wanted to be there watching this final show at the theater with everyone else. Highly recommend!

This is an enjoyable murder mystery that takes place in Paris. When a murder happens during a performance at a theater, Aria Nevins, who formerly worked as an American journalist, is now in Paris and is following Detective Noah Roche and his team to write about their work. All of the cast and crew all could have committed this murder, and they must find out who it is before there is another. Full of twists and turns, I couldn't guess who it might've been, but had my suspicions. Such a fun mystery. I loved the descriptions of Paris, the places they went, the food they ate. That added a nice touch to the story. If definitely read more of this author in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley, and Suzy approved book tours for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

we get right into the action and solving in this story. i like that. i thought the title was a smart addition to the book.
for this story we are in Paris where a murder happens during a theatre performance. Aria Nevins who was once an American journalist trying to following round the detectives on the case. there are all suspects and it could be anyone in that theatre that night. and just why was Aria asked to write this piece on the investigation?
i liked the details added to this book. it was the finer details that you get from this book that doesn't always work in others. the food, the little descriptors of places in Paris and characters that is what it felt like for this book with me. the little inner working of a story and clever details that fit. its really hard to do that in my experience in stories. and done well it can really add something to how a book reads and leaves you feeling.

The first Aria Nevins and Noah Roche mystery is a winner, and I will definitely be looking for the next in the series.

Aria, a disgraced journalist trying to regain respect and a way to make her living, jumps at the chance to be embedded into a Parisian police investigative unit. She senses some underlying tension in the department and realizes quickly that she may have been hired to write a feature about the unit to destroy another career. Noah is the police detective whose career she may hold in her hand.

Both are unhappy when there is a murder for Noah's team to investigate--he was hoping she would just be around for a week in which nothing much happened. She's unhappy because the murder takes place in a theater group rehearsing for a new show, and Aria (through her mother) is friends with several of the suspects.

The tension between Aria and Noah adds depth to the story of a detective unit unraveling a complex murder with many suspects. Unfortunately for Aria, and adding to the distrust Noah feels, the team uncovers long-buried secrets about Aria and her mother's friends.

I enjoyed the Paris setting, the interactions between the main characters, and the way the secrets of the past are uncovered in order to solve the current mystery. Hopefully there will be a second in the series!

There was no wait to get right to the action and I thought it set a good pace for the rest of the book. Aria’s personal connection to some of the suspects and her role in the investigation added a more personal element. I really liked Roche’s team, especially Tenna. The way she looked at evidence and took initiative was different from other mysteries I’ve read. With the murder happening in a theater full of actors it was hard to tell who was acting and telling the truth. I was a quick read in a setting that I love.

Thank you @victoriazackheimauthor @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

Set against the dazzling Paris theater scene, this one starts with a bang.
A murder mid-performance, a cast full of secrets, and a journalist trying to rebuild her reputation while chasing the truth.
It’s fast-paced, full of vivid detail, great characters, and non-stop entertainment. I was hooked from the first act to the final curtain.

Its the grand finale of a one act drama for a very famous theatre, now scheduled for demolition when one of the actresses is found brutally murdered whilst the play was going on. Aria Nevins, once a Pulitzer nominee in investigative journalism is in disgrace due to a grave misjudgment of a case. She is now in Paris understudying French police procedural, with Noah Roche a top French homicide detective who wishes Aria to anywhere else but on his team.

Roche is suspicious of Aria and thinks she has some ulterior motive for being on his team. He suspects whether leaks to the media are through Aria, or whether she is sneaking information to his nemesis boss who dislikes him intensely and is looking for some way to promote his downfall.

It does not promote for cooperation in the team, but fortunately Aria gets on well with the other two members of the team, much to Roche’s chagrin. Aria makes sure she keeps to the letter of her assignment and follows the rules.

The setting of French theatre with its inherent drama and in this case a lot of wheels within wheels, French police procedures (a process I find fascinating in whatever country it is portrayed), plenty of secrets, lots of jealousy and finally revenge makes for a very good plot.

Murder, Mystery and Mayhem in Paris! This novel opens with a murder and the suspense only continues through out the storyline. Disgraced American journalist Aria has been embedded with homicide detective Noah Roche’s team for one week. She is tasked with following and reporting about their work. However, detective Noah is not having it and he feels that Aria has an ulterior motive. She now once again has to prove herself and her credibility, while they work to solve this murder. I enjoyed the various characters as well as the suspense of who really did it. A few times I thought I had it figured out, but then would change my mind. I enjoyed this murder mystery set in Paris. Thank you to the author for the complementary novel and to Suzy Approved Book Tours for the invite. This review is of my own opinion and accord.

Victoria Zackheim, the Author of “The Curtain Falls in Paris” has written a suspenseful and captivating novel. The Genres are Fiction, Mystery, and Suspense. The location for this story is set in a Paris Theater, where there is dramatic action on and off the stage. The author vividly describes Paris, the theater, and the dramatic and complicated characters. There is a one night performance of a play set in the theater, and then the historical theater is to be demolished.

Aria Nevins is a journalist that had been working in the United States, that tragically made a mistake in one of her stories, and she is worried about lawsuits, and a ruined reputation. Aria is called by a French Official, who wants her to observe and write about a Homicide Detective, Noah Roche and his team working in action. This could be a new opportunity for Aria. Aria is familiar with Paris, and has family living there.

Aria does know many of the actors, the director and producer, and is also looking forward to seeing the production. Among the dysfunctional cast, there are betrayals, jealousy, revenge, and secrets. During the curtain call, one of the characters of the play is killed. Detective Roche and his team are involved in solving this homicide. Unfortunately there are twists and turns, old loyalties, and danger. Detective Roche questions why Aria was asked to observe and write about his team. It is a race to beat the clock in finding the murderer and the motive. I highly recommend this intense and edgy novel.

Everyone is a suspect in this murder mystery set in Paris. At the center of the book is a American journalist following a homocide team and a murder takes place in a theatre. Every cast member has a motive and the case becomes plagued with twists, interferences, and mistrusts. I loved that I didn’t figure it out, and am looking forward to
reading Aria again!

A murder mystery set in the Paris theater. Yes please. I loved the Paris setting. It’s such an iconic location and added to the atmosphere while learning a little about the ins and out of producing a play.

A homicide detective and an American journalist pair up to solve this murder. The investigation team being such opposites set up a chance to have them learn a little from each other.

Secrets, lies and deception all surround many of the characters and kept me guessing.

The characters, location and the theater all made this a unique read.

What's better than a murder mystery? One that's set in Paris!
There's plenty of suspense to keep your interest. The author did a great job of covering everyone's tracks to make the whodunit a tough one to figure out. Subset in a theater, the actors are genuine - or are they? Don't write anyone out! The action unfolds as Aria, an American journalist, questionably follows a homicide detective with suspects galore. An engrossing read that I recommend.

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

A disgraced journalist gets a second chance with an assignment following a team of homicide detectives in Paris.
And on her first day, an actress is murdered during intermission of a famous play and luckily she is on the scene.

An intriguing murder mystery about performance, lies, distrust and second chances set in the world of French theatre.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I loved that each of the characters each had their own complications in their private life but it didnt detract from the murder mystery element.

It was well paced, good number of twists and very well thought out.

Can't wait to read the next in the series!

3 stars

This is a murder mystery surrounding the theater in Paris. I like that after the first few chapters you’re well into the investigative process. I always worry that in murder mysteries the backstory will be drawn out in the beginning to a point where I’m already bored, but this book gets right to the point, which I liked. There’s a murder pretty much right in the beginning in chapter 1 and it needs to be solved! The rest of the book takes you down the twisty road of catching a killer.
I’ve never been to Paris, so this book was also a fun mini vacation for my brain into another country, another culture. There was a lot of fun emphasis on the food of Paris, characters meeting at restaurants many times. Many names of dishes were new to me.
Suspense was built throughout and the book moves along well without laboring too much on any individual character development. There were quite a few characters, and I was thankful for not having to sift through a lot of extra fluff and backstory about each one. I was glad to be kept moving almost strictly through the investigative process.
I enjoyed the story, the mystery. However, I did not necessarily prefer the character descriptions. Some of the descriptions of the characters were a little critical and it seemed like it was for no reason. Did we need to know that so-and-so character was unattractive and mousy and unremarkable for example? It just seemed the character descriptions were at times unnecessarily harsh/degrading, negative, and added little value to the story. Even though the story kept moving, I felt that these descriptions were irrelevant, detracted, and went on throughout the book.
Some of the male opinions of women seemed rather harsh, judgmental, and negative too. And almost all the backstories and situations of most of the characters were rather negative as well which made all the characters lives seem depressing. Maybe other readers will overlook those details, but a lot of times I read a book to escape into something fun, positive, and exciting, and some of the negativity just annoyed me more than anything. It felt unnecessary.

My final thoughts:
I would have liked just a little bit of positivity in the book or in any of the characters lives. I would have liked some character development and descriptions that gave some positive vibes. Even if most characters lives are not ideal, I would have preferred a few happier moments or at least one character who wasn’t experiencing tragedy.
However, the story was suspenseful and kept moving at a reasonable pace, minus some of the irrelevant physical descriptions of some of the characters. In this book everyone is a suspect and I was constantly trying to guess who the killer was till the very end! I kept vacillating between so many of the characters potentially being the killer!
I liked the setting (Paris). This book was easy to breeze through and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a less in depth, light, and quick murder mystery.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Victoria Zackheim, and Level Best Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

In 'The Curtain Falls in Paris,' Victoria Zackheim weaves a engrossing mystery against the colorful background of a Parisian theater. Disgraced American reporter Aria Nevins, looking for a new beginning, finds herself in the middle of a murder on the backstage of a play's premier. Teamed with the mysterious Chief Inspector Noah Roche, Aria's reporter senses conflict with his systematic way of working, producing an enthralling relationship.

Zackheim brings to life vividly Paris and the theatre, locating them at the center of the drama unfolding. The tension accumulates gradually as the investigation leads into the life of the galaxy of cast and crew, who all have something to hide and a motive behind. Rich atmosphere and interesting characters make 'The Curtain Falls in Paris' a good beginning for a new mystery series.

Murder, mystery, theater and PARIS! Yes, please.
I love live theater and Paris, so this was a fun one for me. Everyone is a suspect.
Aria Nevins is a fascinating character whose own past as an American journalist proves to be an integral part. She ends up following a homicide detective and her motives come into question, even though this was approved.
Nothing like live theater and the main attraction ends up with a murder which haults EVERYTHING!

I love a good book set in Paris! The vivid descriptions of the city and naming known streets had me planting myself back there walking the streets. Add in a grisly murder in a theater and you've got a recipe for success! I enjoyed that Zackheim was able to intersperse some humor into the book as well without detracting from the overall tone of the story.

The story sucks you in from the first chapter as that is when the murder occurs and the pace really doesn't slow from there. I was kept guessing whodunnit until the end and everyone is a suspect! Guessing correctly matters less to me than seeing how an author brings it all together for the reveal and Zackheim didn't disappoint. I noticed on the cover "An Aria Nevins and Noah Roche Mystery" so I'm excited at the possibility of encountering these two characters again!