Synopses & Reviews
It is 1870, and Paris is in turmoil. As the social and political turbulence of the Franco-Prussian War roils the city, workers starve to death while aristocrats seek refuge in orgies and séances. The Parisians are trapped like rats in their beautiful city but a series of gruesome murders captures their fascination and distracts them from the realities of war. The killer leaves lines from the recently deceased Charles Baudelaire's controversial anthology Les Fleurs du Mal on each corpse, written in the poet's exact handwriting. Commissioner Lefevre, a lover of poetry and a veteran of the Algerian war, is on the case, and his investigation is a thrilling, intoxicating journey into the sinister side of human nature, bringing to mind the brooding and tense atmosphere of Patrick Susskind's . Did Baudelaire rise from the grave? Did he truly die in the first place? The plot dramatically appears to extend as far as the court of the Emperor Napoleon III. A vivid, intelligent, and intense historical crime novel that offers up some shocking revelations about sexual mores in 19th century France, this superb mystery illuminates the shadow life of one of the greatest names in poetry.
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"Mystery aficionados will love this pastiche of Wilkie Collins and Edgar Allan Poe." Library Journal
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"[A] decadent tale.
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"Rich, atmospheric. This gritty, detail-rich mystery novel joins history and literary history to create a sly, smart revenge tale." Shelf Awareness
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"Van Laerhoven packs much complexity into 256 pages, giving this historical mystery the heft of a far longer work." Kirkus
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"[An] intense historical crime thriller. The intricate plot, menacing atmosphere, and rich evocations of period Paris have undeniable power." Publishers Weekly
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"Vigorous. A finely-tuned balancing act between style and content. Add to all this the extremely convincingly painted tragic characters and the multitude of mysterious figures, and what you get is a winner who gives added luster to this jubilee edition of the Hercule Poirot Prize." The jury of the Hercule Poirot Prize
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"[A] decadent tale.
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"[A] decadent tale.
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"[A] decadent tale.
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"[A] decadent tale.
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"[A] decadent tale.
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"[A] decadent tale.
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"[A] decadent tale.
Synopsis
"A decadent tale. Commissioner Lefevre's philosophical discussions with artists and poets and a creepy Belgian dwarf are fascinating."--Marilyn Stasio,