Autumn Leaves, 1922 - Tessa Lunney

Review by Julia

Best consumed with

This novel calls for a sophisticated but piercing cocktail - the gimlet (a mixture of gin and lime cordial). Apparently the name of this drink is derived from the gimlet tool (used for drilling small holes) as the concoction is equally as sharp and piercing. It’s the perfect accompaniment to this novel which is the second instalment in the Kiki Button story. Whilst Autumn Leaves, 1922 retains the glamour of the first novel, it’s also a darker tale - much like the gimlet!

What's it all about? 

This is the sequel to April in Paris, 1921 (find our review of the first book here: April in Paris, 1921 - Tessa Lunney). In this story, Kiki returns to Paris after spending a year in Australia following the death of her mother. However, it’s not all glitz and glamour as France (and the rest of Europe) is starting to slowly descend into turmoil and chaos with the rise of fascism. 

Against this backdrop, Kiki is tasked with another spy assignment. As she races against the clock to complete the mission, she is taken into the heart of the new political movement sweeping Germany and Italy.  And if that wasn’t enough for our heroine, at the same time, Kiki delves into the Parisian art scene to unravel a long lost secret about her mother. 

Why did I choose this book to read? 

I read the first book, April in Paris, 1921, last year and absolutely loved it. I really didn’t want the story to end so I just knew that I had to read the second novel. I often find that if I read books by the same author in quick succession I don’t enjoy the second book as much, so I decided to give it a couple of months before finding a copy of Autumn Leaves, 1922.

I had borrowed the first book from the City of Sydney Library, but I really wanted to buy a copy of Autumn Leaves, 1922, so I could have it on my bookshelf. I decided to purchase it second hand, so I headed over to my favourite second hand online bookstore (World of Books - an amazing site!) and bought a copy.

What did I love?

Everything about this book was fantastic! Reading it felt like visiting an old friend and catching up on years of gossip. You do have to read April in Paris, 1921 first - if you just pick up Autumn Leaves, 1922, the characters and plot won’t make sense.

If you enjoyed April in Paris, 1921, then you will love Tessa’s work here. I’ve been lucky enough to converse with Tessa over Instagram and she described the second book as darker than the first and that’s one of the things I enjoyed most about it. Even though we were reuniting with our favourite characters (Kiki, Bertie (my personal favourite!) and Tom, amongst others) the character growth and development was evident. Kiki still had her insatiable zest for life, but is also grieving following her mother’s death. Bertie is broken-hearted, and Tom (a reporter) is troubled by the atrocities he has witnessed in Smyrna. The inner turmoil of the characters reflects the political landscape at the time - particularly as we know that Europe (and the rest of the world) will be plunged into the horrors of WW2 in less than two decades.

Tessa’s exploration of the inter-war period is another aspect of the novel that I really enjoyed. My knowledge of this time in Europe is quite general, so it’s fascinating to learn more about it through Kiki’s eyes, as she navigates the rising threat of the fascism. Other characters in the novel also deal with the consequences of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, so the political backdrop of the book is a good reminder about the horrors that both the far-right and far-left can inflict.

In a way this is reminiscent of the changing literary landscape of Europe during the interwar period, which saw the rise in female readership and the birth of some great novels, particularly in the genre of detective fiction (most notably in the form of Agatha Christie’s novels). To me, Tessa has created the perfect interwar heroine in Kiki Button. Deeply flawed, but incredibly human, Kiki just leaps off the page and into your imagination - much like she did in the first novel. She reminds me of Claire Fraser from Outlander (one of my favourite shows!) and that’s who I picture in my mind whilst reading the book. 

Tessa does a good job at interweaving the threads of the different storylines together - you have Kiki’s spy mission, her love affairs, and her quest to find out more about her deceased mother. It can make your head spin a bit at just how much Kiki has going on and it would be easy for it to seem a bit unrealistic - which is a small gripe that I had with the first book, but Tessa does a better job of keeping the stories grounded in the second novel. I think it’s because the story is more gritty, a bit more real. 

What did I not love? 

Not much to be honest! However, if I had to choose, it would be that I didn’t totally connect with the storyline concerning Kiki’s mother. Although there was quite a build up to this plot point, the resolution felt a bit too rushed. 

Book club recommended? 

Yes, but only if your book club has read the first novel.