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jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
Commissioner Le Floch is a success in his role in the police force of 18th Century Paris. Favoured by the King and possessing a natural talent for detection he is assigned to monitor a performance at the theatre but his evening takes a turn when he is called to the house of a prominent courtier whose son has been found dead. The family believe it to be suicide but le Floch is not so sure and when a key witness dies in unusual circumstances the next day he is convinced.
This is the second outing for Nicolas le Floch and the plot is as labyrinthine as before. Parot is supremely good at conjuring up the atmosphere of life in 18th century Paris and also at the court of Versailles, where politics is all. le Floch is developing nicely as a character, becoming more rounded. This is a satisfying book.
This is the second outing for Nicolas le Floch and the plot is as labyrinthine as before. Parot is supremely good at conjuring up the atmosphere of life in 18th century Paris and also at the court of Versailles, where politics is all. le Floch is developing nicely as a character, becoming more rounded. This is a satisfying book.
vesper1931's review against another edition
4.0
The book has been translated from the French and is the second of a series in the historical mystery genre. It is now 1761 and Commissioner Nicholas Le Floch is asked to investigate the apparent suicide of the Vicomte Lionel de Ruissec.
In this story we have complex, convoluted plots and political intrigue, which I enjoyed. I also liked the main characters involved in solving the mystery.
I shall probably look out for the first book now.
A NetGalley Book
In this story we have complex, convoluted plots and political intrigue, which I enjoyed. I also liked the main characters involved in solving the mystery.
I shall probably look out for the first book now.
A NetGalley Book
fsethompson's review
3.0
I feel like most of what I disliked about this book was due to the translation - the prose was often a bit clunky and a little awkward, but considering I have very little knowledge of French this could easily have been a similar problem in the original. Plus, the random inclusion of recipes felt really weird and out of the blue - considering it had an existing notes section, putting the recipes there instead of just shoving them into the narrative or dialogue would have worked better.
That aside, it was a nice fun mystery and a good light read as long as you're aware some of the prose can be a little lumpy.
That aside, it was a nice fun mystery and a good light read as long as you're aware some of the prose can be a little lumpy.
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