[A] slippery slow burn ... An odd, languorous piece of work: ostensibly a Hitchcockian thriller and teasingly, tangentially a love story, steeped in the fitful melancholy and low-grade paranoia of postwar Europe and North Africa. What it all adds up to is something more than glossy international intrigue but less, perhaps, than a full-fledged affair ... As a travelogue and a mood piece, The Continental Affair is undeniably beguiling and transportive; as a mystery, it drifts.
Christine Mangan is masterful at creating alluring characters and atmosphere with a hint of the sinister...She does not disappoint in her latest ... Plot moves slowly, but Mangan will keep you hooked with the tension and interplay between Henri and Louise. This is a novel worthy of your time.
Richly layered characters, opulent settings, and graceful prose elevate this captivating crime caper from Mangan above most similar fare ... Alternating viewpoints and a shifting timeline enliven the yarn, and Mangan’s character exposition and vivid depictions of exotic locales are sublime. This is a treat.
A thrilling chase through 1960s Europe with an emotional core and gorgeous prose ... he world that Henri and Louise inhabit is, at times, heartbreaking, but it is never bleak thanks to the beauty of the language. Through Henri and Louise, the text offers insights about gender and colonization that are as relevant now as they ever were. For fans of spy thrillers and literary romances alike. A cat-and-mouse caper with the usual stock characters replaced by complex human beings.
