Strangled in Paris

Book 6: Victor Legris Mysteries

by Claude Izner

Genres: Amateur Sleuth; International Crime & Mystery

Synopsis

The coast of Normandy, France, 1894: A mysterious young woman is rescued by an anonymous man after a deadly shipwreck. Paris, a few months later: The body of a well-dressed woman in a velvet mask is found in the abattoir district of La Villette in Paris. Next to the brutally strangled corpse, the drunk watchman—who witnessed the crime but was too terrified to intervene—finds a pendant featuring a black unicorn. Newly married bookseller Victor Legris is asked by an acquaintance to solve the murder of Louise Fontane, but he is initially baffled by the case. Louise was poor, so where did her finery come from? And what is the significance of the black unicorn? Within days, two more murders startle Paris—both victims were well-respected and seemingly wealthy, both have been killed in a similar fashion, both men's apartments have been defaced and ransacked, and both were members of the Black Unicorn Society, an organization bent on finding the philosopher's stone. Victor and his assistant (and brother-in-law), Jojo, struggle to draw the connections between the murders. And they struggle to keep their sleuthing from their wives, who frown upon their interest in mysteries. As their secret investigation progresses, they discover that in belle époque Paris, young girls with no money or background are as ruthlessly preyed on as ever they were. . . . Strangled in Paris is the sixth installment in Claude Izner's mystery series starring Victor Legris.

Release date: September 3, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

Print pages: 320

Sample

Martin Lorson was too terrified to utter a sound. He dared not move or even swallow, sure that the man must be watching him as a cat watches a sparrow, delighting in its fear. Would he jump out from one side, or from directly opposite him? Panic kept Martin Lorson curled up in a ball, shrinking against the railings. Was that creak the muffled sound of a knife being drawn? Was that shadow the fist of an assassin about to attack? Panting, he screwed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. After what seemed like an hour but was only a few minutes, he managed to convince himself that there was nobody around. He tiptoed over to the woman, freezing at the slightest sound. He nudged her body with his foot. A corpse. As he greedily gulped down air, a medallion stuck between two paving stones caught his eye. Crouching down, he slipped it into his pocket, and noticed the remains of the cigarette that had fallen from the man's mouth as he'd committed his crime. Lorson lit it and filled his lungs with smoke