The Witch of Painted Sorrows

This haunting tale of possession, set in 1894 Paris, from bestseller Rose (The Book of Lost Fragrances) inaugurates a new trilogy. “I did not cause the madness, the deaths, or the rest of the tragedies... I had help.” So says New York socialite and artist Sandrine Salome, who bears the scars of her first traumatic experience with love. At 15, she was caught, naked, with 18-year-old Leon Ferre. When Leon’s father learned of the nature of their relationship, he slapped his son, accidentally triggering a fatal asthma attack in the boy. Ten years later, to escape her treacherous husband, Sandrine flees New York for her grandmother’s home in Paris, where her grandmother reminds Sandrine that the City of Lights is “poison” to her. Sure enough, Sandrine finds herself taken over by the spirit of La Lune, the woman of “moon dreams, of legends and of nightmares.” Fans of literate supernatural suspense will be pleased. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House. (Mar.)