The Metropolitan Affair by Jocelyn Green Book Review
The Metropolitan Affair by Jocelyn Green is a historical fiction book that takes place in the 1920s in New York City. The story revolves around Lauren, the assistant curator of Egyptology at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Joe, a police officer trying to find forgers of Egyptian artifacts.
In this review, I will discuss what I enjoyed about the story and any problems I had with it. My review does not contain spoilers, so you can read it even if you have not read this story.
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The Metropolitan Affair
Author: Jocelyn Green
Publishing Date: March 14, 2023
Series: On Central Park book 1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 384
Rating: 3 stars
Content Warnings: murder, forgery, miscarriage, infant death, injury, & stalking
Synopsis:
For years her explorer father promised Dr. Lauren Westlake she’d accompany him on one of his Egyptian expeditions. But as the empty promises mounted, Lauren determined to earn her own way. Now the assistant curator of Egyptology for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lauren receives two unexpected invitations.
The first is her repentant father’s offer to finally bring her to Egypt as his colleague on a new expedition. The second is a chance to enter the world of New York’s wealthiest patrons who have been victims of art fraud.
With Egyptomania sweeping the city after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, Detective Joe Caravello is on the hunt for a notorious forger preying on the open wallets of New York’s high society. Dr. Westlake is just the expert he needs to help him track the criminal. Together they search for the truth, and the closer Lauren and Joe get to discovering the forger’s identity, the more entangled they become in a web of deception and crime.
Spoiler-Free Book Review
Thank you to NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
The premise of The Metropolitan Affair sounded fascinating to me. I love learning about ancient Egypt, and I enjoy going to museums. The 1920s is a time period that I’m not super familiar with, so I was also excited to learn more about it.
What I Liked
- What I liked best about this book was that I could tell that the author did a lot of research about ancient Egypt and their art. She was very specific about techniques used and the history behind a lot of their artifacts.
- I also enjoyed the Christian faith elements that were included in this story.
What I Didn’t Like
- First, the pacing was very slow and didn’t pick up until almost the end of the story. While I know some readers enjoy slow-paced books, I felt that I really had to push myself to continue reading this story.
- I also felt that there was not very much romance or chemistry between Lauren and Joe. There weren’t many moments where they had interactions outside of the investigation into forgeries. It didn’t really feel like they had a connection with each other even though they were so close throughout their adolescent years.
- The relationship between Lauren and her father was also a bit frustrating. I did not expect what ultimately occurred within their relationship, but I found this aspect of the story to be a bit boring.
Where to Purchase
You can purchase a copy of this book at the following retailers:
Bookshop.org (supports independent book stores) [affiliate]
Books a Million (BAM) [affiliate]
Have you read The Metropolitan Affair or any other books by Jocelyn Green?
I would love to hear your thoughts! Comment down below.