The Assassin in the Marais - (Victor Legris Mysteries) by Claude Izner (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In The Assassin in the Marais, the fourth title in the bestselling Victor Legris mystery series by Claude Izner, Victor Legris finds a new case to investigate when his business partner's apartment is burgled.

The clock of the Église Trinité had just struck eight o'clock in the morning when, without warning, an ear-splitting explosion ripped through the district. A building on rue de Clichy rocked on its foundations, and within seconds its staircase had collapsed from top to bottom and its windows had shattered.

His body vibrated with the shock of the blast and he thought only: Apocalypse. The street began to dance before his eyes. The dust pricked his nostrils, but what invaded him was something other than its bitter odour, something that seemed to emerge as a long-suppressed memory of a past experience. It was the echo of what had happened long ago. A sign.
Paris, Spring 1892. Intrepid bookseller Victor Legris stumbles upon a new case to investigate when his business partner Kenji Mori's apartment is burgled. Curiously, the only item stolen is a decorative goblet of little value. But on learning that two people who were connected to the goblet have been murdered, Victor becomes convinced of its secret significance. He launches himself into the investigation, which takes him through the underbelly of Paris, in hot pursuit of the goblet as it is thrown in the garbage, picked up by a rag collector, and resold by several antique merchants, all the while leaving more dead bodies in its wake. How quickly can Victor recover the goblet and end the killing spree, in a city beset with terrorist activity by anarchists? Equal parts action, character, and atmosphere, this is Victor's most challenging case yet.

Review Quotes

"A sturdy marriage of frothy style and abundant period detail, from obligatory tidbits about Toulouse-Lautrec and the Moulin Rouge to surprising sidelights on little-known but interesting people and ..." --Kirkus Reviews

"A pleasing story with well-executed characters, The Assassin in the Marais also provides a splendid tour of the Paris of another era." --Richmond Times Dispatch

"Izner combines a sparkling puzzle (reminiscent of one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels) with complex characters and appealing descriptions of Paris, and Murder on the Eiffel Tower is a well-executed beginning to a series with great potential." --The Richmond Times-Dispatch

"An extremely satisfying traditional mystery with lots of suspects and panache. Izner writes in a witty, breezy style. . . . The plot is terrific. . . ." --Providence Journal-Bulletin

"The taut pacing and vivid period detail will have readers eagerly turning the pages." --Publishers Weekly

"[T]he energetic curiosity of the hero dovetails nicely with the readers' interest in a fascinating era. The colorful supporting cast lays a solid foundation for Victor's further exploits." --Kirkus Reviews

"[A] fin de siècle delight . . . [a] first-rate escapist pleasure . . . charming, witty, and beautifully evocative." --Bookgeeks

"Reading Izner is like taking a ride into the Belle Epoque in a time machine. A wonderfully breathtaking ride." --Boris Akunin, author of The Winter Queen, The Turkish Gambit, and Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog

"I read this charming, evocative, and suspenseful book with the mounting excitement I always get when I realize I've found a new series--I can't wait for the next Victor Legris book. What a pleasure it is to visit Paris with such an expert tour guide!" --Charles Finch, author of A Beautiful Blue Death and The September Society

About the Author

CLAUDE IZNER is the pseudonym of two sisters, Liliane Korb and Laurence Lefevre. Both are second-hand booksellers on the banks of the Seine and experts on nineteenth century Paris.