Books by Roberta Samuels

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Books by Roberta Samuels 〰️

The Memoir that began the series

French Lessons

One Woman's Tale of Sex, Wine and House Renovation in La Belle France.

Barbara, an American divorcée, moves to France in 2003 on an adventure of self-discovery. She buys an 18th century farmhouse in need of renovation in a tiny French hamlet. While settling in and visiting the attractions of the area, she meets and mingles with a mix of charming characters in her new community. On the lookout for a man to share her life, she explores the romantic possibilities of her new home. As she says, "I am willing to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince." In between chipping away at the farmhouse improvements and building a new life for herself, Barbara reviews and reevaluates some of her preconceptions.

There are flashbacks to the late '60's when she was a foreign exchange student in Paris and to her work as a tour guide in the late 2000's shepherding groups around the lesser-known and famous sights of France.

The book reveals many engaging tidbits about French life and history as it recounts the story of Barbara's self-actualization and her discovery of the ideal mate.

Won an Honorable Mention in the Memoir category at the Paris Book Festival.

“Like a picturesque French farmhouse, the story has good bones...” Kirkus Reviews

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The Book Series: The Art Mystery Novellas

Vanished!

A Valuable African Statue Stolen in Southwest France

This book is the first installment of the "Vanished! Mystery Series", featuring American couple, Barbara and Sam, in their French village. A mysterious, nail-studded African statuette disappears from a local art exhibition at the same time that a young Senegalese migrant sets out on his hazardous journey to Europe through Al Qaeda infested Mali and Niger. Can Barbara and Sam help him to gain legal residency in France and also aid the beleaguered Ogoni tribe to benefit from a rich oil deposit discovered on their territory in the Niger River Delta?

Based on factual events and historical data, "Vanished! A Valuable African Statue Stolen in Southwest France" takes the reader on a hair-raising odyssey from West Africa to Europe AND a delightful holiday in France. These two very different trajectories are connected by a N'Kisi Kongo figure endowed with magical powers of divination by its people.

Along the way, the author touches with insight and feeling on hot button issues such as illegal migration, terrorist activity and corruption in present day West Africa.

Won an Honorable Mention in the Fiction category at the Paris Book Festival.

“This humane thriller will appeal to readers who love mysteries with a global scope.” Publishers Weekly Book Life

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Missing

A Modern Art Masterpiece in a French Medieval Village

A fabulous artwork made by Sonia Delaunay, a famous modern artist, is missing from the French village church for which it was designed. Barbara and Sam, an American couple who just bought a tumbledown 15th century house in the village, are inevitably drawn into the mystery of the artwork's disappearance.

Together with their new French friends-longtime villagers and other big city and foreign transplants like themselves, Barbara and Sam attempt to track down the whereabouts of the missing modern masterpiece. Their search takes them from the depths of the church's medieval crypt to the heights of the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris.

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The next Art Mystery Novella coming out soon…

Lost, An Ancient Arabian Artifact in Florida Bay

Artwork and Videos

Roberta Samuels

Author | Painter

Earned degrees in French and Art History from Northwestern University and the University of Paris at the Sorbonne.

Vanished!, her first book in the art mystery novellas, evolved from her passion for French culture, beautiful objets d’art, and exotic travel. The starting point for the books is based on her experience living in a medieval house in a French village interwoven with historical background and actual events and people. She worked as a French teacher, translator tour escort and art gallery owner, showing her own artwork among others. She speaks French frequently. She lives in New York City and Montpezat de Quercy, France, with her partner.