Its France, 1761. Beyond the glittering court of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour at Versailles, lies Paris, a capital in the grip of crime. A police officer disappears and Nicolas Le Floch, a recruit to the force, is instructed to find him. When unidentified human remains come to light, he seems to have a murder investigation on his hands.
The first in a series of ten historical crime novels set in pre-revolutionary Paris featuring policeman Nicolas Le Floch.
'A terrific book ... brilliantly evokes the casual brutality of life in eighteenth-century France' Sunday Times
'As historical mysteries go, Victorian England has its charms; but dirty, pestilential 18th-century France really promises a walk on the wild side. Jean-François Parot delivers on that pledge with gusto' New York Times
'Has all the twists, turns and surprises the genre demands' Independent on Sunday
'Parot succeeds brilliantly in the reconstruction of of pre-revolutionary Paris' Times
'An engaging murder mystery that picks away at the delicate power balance between king, police and state' Financial Times
'The outstanding attention to historical detail and a writing style that is vaguely reminiscent of its 18th century time period sets this book apart from many in the genre' Portland Book Review
