Antoine Laurain’s fifth novel, set in present-day Paris, features Laurent Letellier, owner of a small bookshop, and Laure, an attractive woman who works as a gilder. A romantic novel with a simple but ingenious plot which is really about second chances, destiny and the randomness of fate. Laurent is divorced with an adolescent daughter who also has a role in the story. Laure is a childless widow with not many relatives. She is mugged for her handbag and ends up in hospital with concussion. Laurent comes upon the handbag by chance in a bin, and sets himself to track down its owner by a process of detection. His clues are the various feminine items in the bag, including a red notebook containing personal notes, but not the owner’s name or contact details. He reconstructs the owner’s character little by little: her perfume, her preferred reading, etc. The book is well written and easy to read, with short chapters. There are some sensual passages.

R. I. (Spain, 2016)