Paris Match - by Christopher Bollen (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A twisty, binge-y novel of art, sex, fashion, and murder, a delicious game of cat and mouse across the arrondissements of Paris, where every form of beauty is for sale

Nothing is more interesting than a person with something to hide.

"Thrilling, deliciously sordid, full of beauty and heartbreak. A deeply propulsive novel about desperation and innocence lost, it is also a remarkably tender love story. Ravishing in every way, Paris Match is Bollen's best book yet."
--Katie Kitamura

"In Paris Match, Bollen brilliantly considers murder as one of the fine arts. What an engrossing, utterly pleasurable, and morally complex novel this is. A beautiful nightmare from which I did not want to wake up."
--Hernan Diaz

"A delight for its wry observation, its witty asides, its knowing descriptions of being a gay American in Paris. But it is also a finely-tuned murder mystery. We know from the opening sentence who did it, the tension and excitement come in what happens next."
--Colm Tóibín

Fin Vollmer didn't do it.

A twenty-three-year-old American in Paris, Fin's luck is running out. He's been living off his wits and beauty, but his visa has expired and he can't go home to Ohio, where haunting memories await. He's turned to casual sex work to survive, but when Fin discovers a client murdered in his palatial apartment on Île Saint-Louis, Fin knows what's coming for him and he runs.

Jamie Hayes did.

An ex-model turned personal assistant at the sharp end of middle age, Jamie is in over his head and desperately trying to arrange an exit strategy from his many mistakes. After committing a violent murder, he now must stop the only witness from uncovering the truth.

Thus begins a game of cat and mouse across the neighborhoods of Paris and every social strata, from the lavishly appointed apartments overlooking the Seine and the elite auction houses selling France's artistic heritage to the squalid saunas of the Boulevard de Sébastopol and the vast overnight flower market that supplies the city's lobbies and tables with glorious, perishable beauty.

At once a deliciously propulsive work of suspense and a transportive journey to the most beautiful city in the world, Paris Match is the most ambitious novel yet from an author the Los Angeles Times calls "a thriller master."

Review Quotes

"Paris Match is Christopher Bollen's best book yet--thrilling, deliciously sordid, full of beauty and heartbreak. A deeply propulsive novel about desperation and innocence lost, it is also a remarkably tender love story. . . . Ravishing in every way."--Katie Kitamura

"Paris Match is a delight for its wry observation, its witty asides, its knowing descriptions of being a gay American in Paris. But it is also a finely tuned murder mystery. We know from the opening sentence who did it; the tension and excitement come in what happens next."--Colm Tóibín

"In Paris Match, Christopher Bollen brilliantly considers murder as one of the fine arts. What an engrossing, utterly pleasurable, and morally complex novel this is--a beautiful nightmare from which I did not want to wake up."--Hernan Diaz

"With its intricate plot and style, Paris Match is a wily, energetic Parisian-American gay adventure. Read this book!"--Gus Van Sant

About the Author

Christopher Bollen is the author of several critically acclaimed novels including most recently Havoc, which was a New York Times Best Thriller of the Year and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller. He is a frequent contributor to publications including Vanity Fair, The New York Times, and Interview. He lives in New York City and Paris.