Tuesday Tea and Tomes: The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru (Russian Tearoom in Paris holds Secrets and Spirts)

The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru by Oleysa Salnikova Gilmore: A Russian tearoom in Paris mystery.

Historical fiction, with ties to pre-revolutionary Russia, set in 1920's Paris with the hub of activity taking place in a tearoom -  I knew The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru would capture my attention. What was out of the norm for me, was the paranormal. Along with sweet pastries and tea brewed from a Samovar, which is also the tearoom's name, supernatural forces are also served up. And, like the Samovar's guests, some are more welcome than others. 

I was captivated by it all!

The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru, written by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, weaves mystical characters seamlessly into the flesh and blood inhabitants of the Samovar. The tearoom, located in a Russian enclave of Paris, is home to Valentino Lenormand, "Baba Valya", and her granddaughter of Zina. Valya fled Russia before the revolution and carved out a living through real and staged otherworldly powers. At Samovar, she plays hostess to fellow emigrees, many of whom are the fallen royals and aristocrats of her homeland. Zina, born in France, is a young woman in her twenties caught between old-world expectations, jazz-age freedoms, and spirits both haunting and haunted.

Tea leaves and coffee beans see into the future.

Although not heavily laden with references to real persons - a brief interaction with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda and a mention of Hemingway -  we're given a peek into modern Paris night life. It coexists with the fading rituals of Russian high society, all threaded together with fortune telling, conjuring, and unsolved mysteries.

A tragic past looms over Samovar with a darkness to match the decor of the tearoom's meeting place, where fortunes are told and seances conducted. Zina taps into her affinity, dormant for years by orders of Valya, to summon old ghosts to face off living suspects. 

The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru is a page-turner, pushing the reader from mid-19th century Russia to "modern day" Paris in a back-and-forth race to bring the guilty—living or dead—to justice.

The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru pair well with Russian tea and teacups.

I'm glad to have gone beyond my usual reading genre to the beyond - a story mixed with history, romance, mysticism, and the irresistible allure of cream-filled trubochki paired with strong Russian tea infused with oranges and spices.

Two white gloved thumb's up for The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru!

*We paired the page-turner novel with Russian Earl Grey from Verdigris Teas, Hudson, NY (orders now filled by West Bridge Tea and Art Catskill, NY). Ingredients include black tea and orange pieces 😊