The Magnolia Palace

A famous artists' model flees false murder charges and hides in the Frick mansion as a servant.

Lillian Carter is an infamous artists' model whose face can be seen all around New York City. She began posing nude for sculptors so that she and her single mother could afford rent and food. Lillian quickly became renowned for her classical beauty, but no one knows her real name -- she's only known as "Angelica" to the art community.

After her mother's death from the Spanish flu, Lillian becomes a person of interest for a murder in her building. She flees when the police arrive and ends up at the Frick mansion as Helen Frick's personal secretary. Lillian loves being surrounded by the works of art the Fricks have acquired, even though she worries that someone might notice her as her likeness has been used in a sculpture above the Fricks' door.

Lillian becomes indispensable to Helen Frick, but the reader soon becomes aware in the future timeline that something must have gone wrong. Was Lillian discovered?

Later, in 1966, the Frick home has become a museum. English model Veronica travels to NYC for a photoshoot at the Frick and becomes trapped in the house during a winter storm. She finds the pages of a scavenger hunt created by Helen Frick and enlists Joshua, an intern also trapped in the Frick, to help her reach the end of the clues.

Solving this 50-year-old scavenger hunt leads them back to the past, and the story of Lillian and Helen's falling out is slowly revealed.

Recommended for Davis' many fans, readers of historical women's fiction, and lovers of New York City.

Fiona Davis is a former actress, editor, and journalist. She holds degrees from the Columbia Journalism School and the College of William and Mary (go Tribe!).

Publisher: Dutton

Length: 352 pages

Release Date: January 25, 2022

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.