The Man in the Black Suit

Written by Sylvain Reynard

Narrated by Robertson Dean

Acacia Santos excels at her job as concierge at the prestigious Hotel Victoire in Paris. When her superior, Marcel, is attacked in a supposed random mugging, she is tasked with serving one of the hotel's most mysterious and attractive guests.

Nicholas Cassirer checks into the hotel under an assumed name every three months. Usually, he stays in the penthouse suite with a beautiful female companion but on this occasion, he arrives alone and is displeased in having to deal with someone new. A match of wits ensues as he tests Acacia's expertise with a series of almost impossible demands. Her intelligence and creativity rise to the challenge, earning his respect. They strike a tenuous accord until Acacia discovers a famous stolen painting in his suite, she contacts a former boyfriend who works for the elite BRB, a unit of French law enforcement that deals with art thefts.

Nicholas is questioned by police and released when it is revealed the painting is a reproduction. Irked with her behavior, Acacia's supervisor demotes her threatening dismissal and the cancellation of her work permit.

But Acacia has already attracted Nicholas' attention.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Jan 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781681688947

Reviews for The Man in the Black Suit

[Antonela · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mystery, romance and action all around Europe. Started pretty good but somwwhere around middle I started to loose interest. A solid read.

[Roxie Lozano · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good read. Love the drama and mastery of both characters.

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Acacia Santos is a concierge working at a prestigious hotel in Paris. The man in the black suit is a highly valued guest Nicholas Cassirer though he's under an assumed name. Nicholas and Acacia clash though he admires her honesty when she turns him into the police because she thinks he has stolen artwork (he doesn't). But this interaction causes her to be drawn into his world of stolen art, gun running, spying, and other international intrigues.I loved the Gabriel Inferno series as well as the Florentine series by Mr. Reynard, but this one was kind of meh. There's a lot of 'telling' in the story which leads to an emotional distance for the reader as well as a very slow pace, especially in the beginning. Both characters have reason to feel a lot of emotion but both are so self-contained it blunts the relationship between them. Besides all the international intrigue, the book touches on anti-semitism, anti-muslim, and anti-immigration themes. Throw in some personal issues with personal disfigurement and jealousy over the exes. All this creates more of a mess that jumps from issue to issue. I would rather the story concentrated on one of these issues to give a deeper insight into the characters rather than glossing over so many of them.The locales are great as always in Mr. Reynard's books. I just felt the book was a bit flat. I hoping for more in his next book.