The fourth installment of Gini Anding's Witness series featuring the irrepressible American widow Amy Page and French inspector Jean-Michel Jolivet, Witness by the Church finds Amy and Jean-Michel basking in his retirement from the Sûreté and settling nicely into their new commitment: living together on the vibrant Ile Saint-Louis. But things get a little less idyllic when Amy becomes the possible target of unknown assassins.
A bombing in the Métro station, the stabbing of an innocent friend, a suicide, and a bold murder in a church appear to all to be linked to attempts on Amy's life. Drawn out of retirement to protect his lover, Jean-Michel heads an investigation with the help of his Sûreté colleagues and friends. Motives are unclear, though there's talk of hidden relics and fabled treasure. It becomes evident that there may be a connection between the crimes, the life of Saint Louis, and the church that bears his name in the heart of Paris.
With her signature interweaving of history, legend, adventure, and passion, and her sublime rendering of the cuisine and mores of the beguiling Parisians, Gini Anding delivers another engrossing detective story, spy thriller, and romantic mystery rolled into one novel.
