“Hello, friend.”

From James Patterson and Maxine Paetro’s Confessions: The Paris Mysteries.

Tandy Angel has faced lots of hardships in her young life, from the death of her parents to her older sister’s sudden death years ago to her older brother’s murder trial and acquittal, but Tandy’s troubles aren’t over yet.  The limited amount of money left behind by their parents is running out, so their guardian Jacob packs up Tandy and her brothers (Matty, Harry, and Hugo) and they set out for Paris in an attempt to secure financial security for the Angels.  The children only have to behave and follow several rules while the paperwork is being completed to gain financial security, so of course, everything goes wrong.  James (Tandy’s old boyfriend) shows up in Paris and the two work on reconnecting after their fathers orchestrated their separation years ago.  Things go good (as good as can be expected for an Angel) until James suddenly pulls away and Tandy is left with the need to know why… a search that may even take her so deep as to discover her family’s connection to her sister’s death.

Patterson and Paetro’s third installment in the Confessions series does its best to create some distinguishing points from the other books in the series, both with the setting and the recent-ness of the family mystery.  The story is a quick read that will draw even skeptic readers deeper into the book, because there are enough pops of mystery and thriller elements to carry the quieter moments of the book.  Some will have trouble with the romance portions of the story, but overall The Paris Confessions is a fun, quick read that definitely helps the series move forward.