
A Key to Paris: Mrs. Duchesney's Mystery in Parc Montsouris
The Mrs. Duchesney Mystery Series, Volume 2
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ian A. Miller
About this listen
In Paris, there were simply too many beautiful women hiding too many secrets and this case was becoming too personal and too intriguing for Mrs. Duchesney to solve on her own. There was only one name on the engraved invitation - "Louie Arnaud Bertrand" - making it perfectly clear that Mrs. Duchesney was not welcome at Chateau de Robinesque - Roussel. Investigating the "very delicate nature" of this mystery would become her sleuthing partner Louie's first solo assignment. Mrs. Duchesney had to admit Louie was an excellent private detective, but at times like these his weakness for fiery-tempered women always made him act a bit too charming, foolish, and always far too seductive for his own good. It was so curious. Why would a woman who kept the chief inspector of the Paris police on her speed dial prefer the help of a former lover in solving a mystery? Unless, of course, she had something more to hide?
©2015 Peggy Kopman-Owens (P)2018 Peggy Kopman-OwensListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Gin Lovers
- The Serial
- By: Jamie Brenner
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1925, and the Victorian era, with its confining morals, is all but dead. Unfortunately for New York socialite Charlotte Delacorte, the scandalous flapper revolution is little more than a headline in the tabloids. She lives her rigid and controlling husband, William, but her Fifth Avenue townhouse is a gilded cage. But when William's rebellious younger sister, the beautiful and brash Mae, comes to live with them after the death of their mother, Charlotte finds entrée to a world beyond her wildest dreams - and a handsome and mysterious stranger.
-
-
Great book!!!
- By Anonymous User on 12-08-22
By: Jamie Brenner
-
Kane and Abel
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless polish immigrant-born on the same day near the turn of the century on opposite sides of the world-are brought together by fate and the quest of a dream. Two men - ambitious, powerful, ruthless - are locked in a relentless struggle to build an empire, fueled by their all-consuming hatred.
-
-
Kane & Abel - 30 years later
- By Elliot on 10-03-11
By: Jeffrey Archer
-
The Magnolia Palace
- A Novel
- By: Fiona Davis
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge
-
-
This isn't my favorite but entertaining
- By Linda on 02-01-22
By: Fiona Davis
-
The Librarian of Crooked Lane
- The Glass Library, Book 1
- By: C.J. Archer
- Narrated by: Marian Hussey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she's descended from magicians, she's skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she's just an ordinary woman who loves books. She seeks answers from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won't be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.
-
-
Fun to be Back
- By Meg on 10-12-22
By: C.J. Archer
-
Lunch with Charlotte
- By: Leon Berger
- Narrated by: Leon Berger
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every Friday for the last 25 years of her life, I had lunch with Charlotte and each week she told me more of her extraordinary story. To all appearances, she was a strong and dignified survivor, with old-world courtesies, a twinkling sense of humor, and a lilting Austrian syntax. Yet deep within, she'd been scarred by a profound personal trauma.
-
-
A Well-told, Heart-wrenching Novel
- By deebuff on 01-08-16
By: Leon Berger
-
As the Crow Flies
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Charlie Trumper inherits the barrow his grandfather used to peddle fruit and vegetables in turn-of-the-century Whitechapel, England, he inherits his enterprising spirit as well. Charlie's deeply held ambition to raise himself out of the poverty of London's East End is destined to be realized, but there are many obstacles to overcome, including a tour of duty at the front in World War I, where he encounters the man who will become his lifelong enemy.
-
-
A strong story, with an even stronger reader
- By B. Bordelon on 08-22-15
By: Jeffrey Archer
-
The Gin Lovers
- The Serial
- By: Jamie Brenner
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1925, and the Victorian era, with its confining morals, is all but dead. Unfortunately for New York socialite Charlotte Delacorte, the scandalous flapper revolution is little more than a headline in the tabloids. She lives her rigid and controlling husband, William, but her Fifth Avenue townhouse is a gilded cage. But when William's rebellious younger sister, the beautiful and brash Mae, comes to live with them after the death of their mother, Charlotte finds entrée to a world beyond her wildest dreams - and a handsome and mysterious stranger.
-
-
Great book!!!
- By Anonymous User on 12-08-22
By: Jamie Brenner
-
Kane and Abel
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless polish immigrant-born on the same day near the turn of the century on opposite sides of the world-are brought together by fate and the quest of a dream. Two men - ambitious, powerful, ruthless - are locked in a relentless struggle to build an empire, fueled by their all-consuming hatred.
-
-
Kane & Abel - 30 years later
- By Elliot on 10-03-11
By: Jeffrey Archer
-
The Magnolia Palace
- A Novel
- By: Fiona Davis
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge
-
-
This isn't my favorite but entertaining
- By Linda on 02-01-22
By: Fiona Davis
-
The Librarian of Crooked Lane
- The Glass Library, Book 1
- By: C.J. Archer
- Narrated by: Marian Hussey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she's descended from magicians, she's skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she's just an ordinary woman who loves books. She seeks answers from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won't be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.
-
-
Fun to be Back
- By Meg on 10-12-22
By: C.J. Archer
-
Lunch with Charlotte
- By: Leon Berger
- Narrated by: Leon Berger
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every Friday for the last 25 years of her life, I had lunch with Charlotte and each week she told me more of her extraordinary story. To all appearances, she was a strong and dignified survivor, with old-world courtesies, a twinkling sense of humor, and a lilting Austrian syntax. Yet deep within, she'd been scarred by a profound personal trauma.
-
-
A Well-told, Heart-wrenching Novel
- By deebuff on 01-08-16
By: Leon Berger
-
As the Crow Flies
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Charlie Trumper inherits the barrow his grandfather used to peddle fruit and vegetables in turn-of-the-century Whitechapel, England, he inherits his enterprising spirit as well. Charlie's deeply held ambition to raise himself out of the poverty of London's East End is destined to be realized, but there are many obstacles to overcome, including a tour of duty at the front in World War I, where he encounters the man who will become his lifelong enemy.
-
-
A strong story, with an even stronger reader
- By B. Bordelon on 08-22-15
By: Jeffrey Archer
-
The Enigma of Room 622
- A Novel
- By: Joël Dicker
- Narrated by: Chris Harper
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A writer named Joël, Switzerland’s most prominent novelist, flees to the Hôtel de Verbier, a luxury resort in the Swiss Alps. Disheartened over a recent breakup and his longtime publisher’s death, Joël hopes to rest. However, his plans quickly go awry. It all starts with a seemingly innocuous detail: at the Verbier, there is no room 622. Before long, Joël and fellow guest Scarlett uncover a long-unsolved murder that transpired in the hotel's room 622.
-
-
In and out of Time
- By strevdawg on 11-28-23
By: Joël Dicker
-
The Time In Between
- A Novel
- By: Maria Duenas
- Narrated by: Zilah Mendoza
- Length: 21 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The thrilling, internationally bestselling novel about a haute couture seamstress who becomes an undercover spy for the British Secret Service during World War II. #1 bestseller in Spain with more than 1.5 million copies sold, The Time In Between has taken readers by storm with its unforgettable tale of adventure, tragedy, love, and war. Readers will fall in love with MarÍa DueÑas’s dazzlingly inspiring heroine, Sira Quiroga.
-
-
terrible narration
- By Sarah A. Peyronnin on 05-18-12
By: Maria Duenas
-
And Only to Deceive
- Lady Emily, Book 1
- By: Tasha Alexander
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly.
-
-
Tiresome
- By nkevinsc on 03-05-15
By: Tasha Alexander
-
The Prague Sonata
- By: Bradford Morrow
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early days of the new millennium, pages of a worn and weathered original sonata manuscript - the gift of a Czech immigrant living out her final days in Queens - come into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano career was cut short by an injury. To Meta's eye, it appears to be an authentic 18th-century work; to her discerning ear, the music rendered there is commanding, hauntingly beautiful, clearly the undiscovered composition of a master. But there is no indication of who the composer might be.
-
-
Wonderful topic, writer gets in the way
- By Amber's mom on 07-31-18
By: Bradford Morrow
-
Manhattans and Murder
- The Murder, She Wrote Mysteries, Book 2
- By: Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain
- Narrated by: Beth Porter
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Promoting her latest books brings best-selling mystery writer Jessica Fletcher to New York for Christmas. Her schedule includes book signings, chat-show appearances, department store shopping...and murder. But it all begins with a sidewalk Santa staring at Jessica with fear and recognition.
-
-
A release of an older Donald Bain book in the series, thank goodness
- By Dorise on 02-01-19
By: Jessica Fletcher, and others
-
Death at La Fenice
- Commissario Brunetti Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Donna Leon
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During intermission at the famed La Fenice opera house in Venice, Italy, a notoriously difficult and widely disliked German conductor is poisoned—and suspects abound. Guido Brunetti, a native Venetian, sets out to unravel the mystery behind the high-profile murder. To do so, he calls on his knowledge of Venice, its culture, and its dirty politics. Along the way, he finds the crime may have roots going back decades—and that revenge, corruption, and even Italian cuisine may play a role.
-
-
Hercule Poirot in Venice...!!!
- By Emil Grancagnolo on 10-09-22
By: Donna Leon
-
The Last of the Stanfields
- By: Marc Levy, Daniel Wasserman - translator
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen, Braden Wright
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When London journalist Eleanor-Rigby Donovan receives an anonymous letter alluding to a crime committed by her deceased mother, her life is turned upside down. It points her to a bar on the Baltimore Harbor, where she finds a stranger who has received the same mysterious letter about his own mother. Together, Eleanor-Rigby and this young man, George-Harrison Collins, embark on a quest through the shadowy past of the Stanfields, a moneyed Maryland family full of unimaginable secrets.
-
-
Romance, Mystery, Resolution—Great Listen
- By Linda on 02-23-19
By: Marc Levy, and others
-
Leviathan
- By: Paul Auster
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When his closest friend, Benjamin Sachs, accidentally blows himself up on a Wisconsin road, Peter Aaron attempts to piece together the life that led to Sachs' tragic demise and determine the reason for his death.
-
-
Better than the "trilogy"
- By P K on 06-09-11
By: Paul Auster
-
The Psychology of Time Travel
- A Novel
- By: Kate Mascarenhas
- Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project - and future of time travel - in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team - erasing her contributions from history. Fifty years later, time travel is a big business. Twenty-something Ruby Rebello knows her beloved grandmother Granny Bee was one of the pioneers, though no one will tell her more.
-
-
Lesbian time travelers!
- By Ranee on 10-13-21
By: Kate Mascarenhas
-
The Crumpled Letter
- Belle Epoque Mystery, Book 1
- By: Alice Quinn, Alexandra Maldwyn-Davies - translator
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One spring evening in 1884, beautiful young courtesan Lola Deslys discovers the lifeless body of a chambermaid hidden in the gardens of the Hôtel Beau Rivage in Cannes. Even more distressing is that Lola knows the girl well. When the inquiry into her murder fails to reveal a single substantial clue, Lola is persuaded by novelist Guy de Maupassant to delve into the case on her own. Eager to exert her independence and defy conventions, Lola agrees. But she needs help in her investigation, and there’s no better partner in her pursuit - however unlikely - than Miss Gabriella Fletcher, a highborn, well-educated, and currently disgraced English governess.
-
-
a wonderful narration of a captivating story.
- By Shoeshopper2 on 12-10-18
By: Alice Quinn, and others
-
Murder at Pride Lodge
- A Kyle Callahan Mystery
- By: Mark McNease
- Narrated by: K. C. Kelly
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the first in a gay mystery series, the Kyle Callahan Mysteries. Who killed Teddy the handyman - if anyone killed him at all? Kyle and his life partner Danny Durban live in New York City, where murder never seems to be more than a subway stop away. In this first story, they head to Pride Lodge, their favorite getaway from the City, over what they expect to be a festive Halloween weekend. What they find instead is a web of murder, deceit, and revenge served cold as a knife blade
-
-
Finally...gay characters over 50
- By Rodney on 02-20-15
By: Mark McNease
-
Echoes of Sherlock Holmes
- Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon
- By: Laurie R. King - editor, Leslie S. Klinger - editor
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin, Clive Chafer, Derek Perkins, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Expert Sherlockians Laurie King and Leslie Klinger put forth the question: What happens when great writers/creators who are not known as Sherlock Holmes devotees admit to being inspired by Conan Doyle stories? While some are highly regarded mystery writers, others are best known for their work in the fields of fantasy or science fiction. All of these talented authors, however, share a great admiration for Arthur Conan Doyle and his greatest creations, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
-
-
Easy listen
- By patsy on 07-31-17
By: Laurie R. King - editor, and others
What listeners say about A Key to Paris: Mrs. Duchesney's Mystery in Parc Montsouris
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Victoria J. Mejia-Gewe
- 07-31-18
Part mystery, part unfolding drama
In <strong>A Key to Paris</strong> by Peggy Kopman-Owens, Mrs. Duchesney, an American expatriate, has teamed up with Louie Arnaud Bertrand to form a detective agency in Paris. Louie takes her one Sunday to their favorite restaurant, where they meet a former lover of Louie's named the Contessa Serafina, married to a man 40 years her senior. The contessa asks for Louie's assistance because her latest lover disappeared at the same time as a "little picture." Unknowledgable about art, the contessa can't understand why the painting's disappearance is such a big deal, claiming that she sent the painting to be restored. Then Louie tells her the worth of the painting, over a million euros. Since the contessa and Louie get into a loud shouting match in Italian, Mrs. Duchesney gets out of the restaurant and promptly leaves town without telling anyone.
Using a pseudonym, Mrs. Duchesney applies for a job as housemaid at the Chateau de Robinesque-Roussel, home of the contessa. There she spends three weeks as practically a prisoner in working her fingers to the bone while doing all the snooping she can accomplish in the meantime. Louie, who has always shown disregard for Mrs. Duchesney in letting her know about his whereabouts, suddenly gets a taste of his own poor treatment of his business partner in not knowing anything about her whereabouts. To teach him his lesson and to allow herself fuller access to the chateau, Mrs. Duchesney has called her lifelong best friend, Rudy, to have him cover for her. Each detective works on her or his own for the first time, each getting pieces of the puzzle.
<strong>A Key to Paris</strong> has an interesting mystery, but it was very slow getting to the plot. It spent two hours out of the 12 watching Mrs. Duchesney having a boring Sunday afternoon with Louie, which got a bit tedious. Once the mystery presents itself, it becomes interesting. In contrast with a typical detective novel, it has so many details kept from us readers that we tend to view this as less of a traditional mystery than as a novel with a complex plot that develops over time.
The book is driven especially by its characters, in particular Mrs. Duchesney and Louie. The former uses the title of misses because she thinks it will give her better standing among potential clients. However, as the book says too many times, Mrs. Duchesney is a virgin. Listening to her experiences as a virtual slave in the chateau made me cringe and feel how the estate is run like a Victorian mansion rather than a 21st century one.
Ian A. Miller performs the audio edition of this book. With a pleasant voice, Miller adds a nice touch to the audiobook, using strong voices for the various characters, with an especially believable voice for Louie Bertrand. Occasionally I noticed that certain words seemed to be mispronounced. However, since Miller uses a British accent for the narration and a French one for local characters, it's possible that such words are pronounced differently in those accents.
I found <strong>A Key to Paris</strong> to be of real interest once the initial doldrums of the first Sunday get past. The depictions draw us in to the story and make us connect to the book. The plot does get a little confusing, since it holds back on crucial pieces until the end. I give this book four stars.
<strong>Disclaimer:</strong> I received this book for review purposes, but that in no way affected the content of my review.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!