All I Want For Christmas | Karen Swan
REVIEWED BY LINDA HILL
Darcy Cotterell is in Copenhagen working on her art history Ph.D. Her flatmate and friend, Freja, thinks Darcy spends too much time working and not enough time playing, so signs her up to a dating app. But work and play are about to get messy as Darcy finds herself investigating a previously unknown artistic portrait…
All I Want For Christmas: book review & synopsis
Do not be fooled by the cover and title of All I Want for Christmas. This is not simply a Christmas story, although it takes place in the run up to Christmas. It is a multifaceted read that is totally wonderful.
It’s so hard to decide the best part of the story. It could be the fascinating art world mystery at the heart of the plot. It could be the dramatic sense of business rivalry. It could be the authentic historical research. Or it could be the gorgeous romantic element that has the reader desperate for Darcy to get the right man. I have a feeling, however, it’s the fact that this story is far more than the sum of its parts. It’s a gripping narrative, filled with affecting themes and sizzling with attraction – everything you might expect from an author as skilled as Karen Swan. I absolutely loved it.
The depiction of the art world that Darcy finds herself investigating is so convincing and compelling that it’s difficult to believe this is fiction. Add in the rival claims on the mystery portrait and the cutthroat world of big business, set against the glorious backdrop of Copenhagen, and the reader is plunged headlong into a whirlpool of mystery, glittering society and the darker underbelly of history. There are so many twists and turns along the way.
Conflict… and romance
The characters are created with sensitivity. None is perfect so that each feels like someone we might know – or in the case of the arrogant yet vulnerable and incredibly sexy Max, someone we’d very much like to know! The conflict between Max and Darcy is romantic, frustrating and captivating.
But whilst this is a sweeping, engaging read, there are deeper themes explored, too. Karen Swan considers reputation and integrity with maturity and understanding. As a result of Darcy’s investigative work a voice is given to the lost, the wronged and the dispossessed so that All I Want For Christmas is more than mere entertainment.
All I Want for Christmas is a book just perfect for reading curled up by a roaring log fire. It’s an absolute treat and not to be missed.
All I Want For Christmas by Karen Swan is out now (Pan, PB, £9.99) and available from Amazon.
Read more fiction reviews by Linda Hill including City of Silk by Glennis Virgo, Things We Lose In Waves by Lucy Ayrton, Beautiful People by Amanda Jennings, A Merry Little Christmas by Cathy Bramley, Miss Beeton’s Murder Agency by Josie Lloyd and It’s Getting Hot In Here by Jane Costello.
