The Purple Shadow by Christopher Bowden

 

Was he being threatened or merely warned off? Why should any harm come to him anyway? He'd just been asking a few questions.

The Purple Shadow by Christopher Bowden is a mystery with a supernatural twist.

This is a slow-paced and slightly unsettling read, with mystic goings-on, related to a strange piece of art. 

Colin Mallory, the main protagonist of the novel, is an actor between jobs, who happens to be in Paris on his own, while his girlfriend is elsewhere with a film crew. 

He meets Madame Ducasse at the exhibition organised by the partner of his sister. Madame, "embodying the chic, the quiet authority, of the gallery itself" invites Colin and Paul for dinner at her place. While the hostess is headed to the kitchen, two men look at the eclectic collection of pictures and ornaments in the sitting room.

They are both drawn to a painting above the fireplace, it is a portrait of a woman in her mid-twenties, painted in the 1930s. She is looking directly at the viewers "with a knowing smile and a hint of complicity. Or so it seemed. The effect was disconcerting".

Paul, who's an art expert, thinks this is a work of Vuillard. Marion explains that this is the portrait of her great-aunt Sylvie Charlot, who died a few years ago at the age of a hundred and something. She lived in this apartment all her life.

Later Paul and Colin discuss the painting's details and the lack of the artist's signature. There is a stain on the rug in the picture which looks odd, "almost random, as if it's a shadow of something outside the picture".

What's even more odd, that the stain shifts its position, when they look at the photos on the phone later.

Colin cannot explain why he is so drawn to the artwork. "The history of the painting was none of his business and he would be back in London before long... But there was something about the portrait of Sylvie Charlot, something compelling, that was driving him on. He could not let go".

He tries to find out who Sylvie was, and what is the creepy mystery behind the painting. Colin discovers that Sylvie was a star of the fashion world before the war and was hobnobbing with the most famous artists, musicians and artists. Now her legacy is mostly forgotten. As for the portrait, it has a life of its own.

"Sylvie herself was enjoying the attention, Paul said. Her smile seemed to become broader, her expression more knowing, almost mischievous, as if she were playing a game. And the shadow on the rug... The only thing was, its position in the photographs wasn't quite as he remembered from the painting; the shadow seemed a slightly different size and shape and a bit closer to Sylvie".

Paul is trying to monitor the position of the shadow by marking its position in each photo with Post-it notes. "There was no doubt that the shadow had shifted. Not just once and not just closer to Sylvie".

The enthusiastic duo come to a conclusion that the picture must have been a double portrait, which was cut in half. Colin feels captivated by Sylvie, as if they have an invisible connection. Is she appealing to him, hoping he would reveal the mystery? 

His pursuit of the origins of the painting are not as harmless as they sound. He is warned against it, the people who know its secrets "would not want any harm to come to you", they tell Colin.

"Harm? Why should I come to any harm?"

"All being well, you won't. But I must advise you not to pursue your interest in the portrait of Sylvie Charlot".

Despite the warning, Colin is determined to find out the truth about the painting, why it was divided in two, and why it was hidden from view for many years. Was it a sensible decision? Colin is feeling troubled. "It was the nights, the dark shadows in passages and doorways, the feeling that he was being followed, that it was unwise to linger. He no longer felt comfortable, even in places he knew well".

Colin's research brings him into the past of the film and theatre world of Paris and London before the war, and to the present-day Sussex. As the secrets keep unravelling, the seems little doubt "that the portrait, and images of it, had unusual properties, almost a life of their own".

The Purple Shadow is an enjoyable and enthralling mystery, which will keep you baffled until the very end. This book transports you to the theatre and film world before the war.

Purchase Links 

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Purple-Shadow-Christopher-Bowden-ebook/dp/B01JLMD7N4/ 

US - https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Shadow-Christopher-Bowden-ebook/dp/B01JLMD7N4/ 

France - https://www.amazon.fr/Purple-Shadow-Christopher-Bowden-ebook/dp/B01JLMD7N4/

Author Bio – Christopher Bowden lives in south London. He is the author of six colour-themed novels, which have been praised variously by Andrew Marr, Julian Fellowes, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Shena Mackay. 

Social Media Links – 

https://www.facebook.com/christopher.bowden.90 

Website - http://www.christopherbowden.com

This book review is part of the blog tour.

Many thanks to Christopher Bowden, Langton & Wood and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!