Hugo a former FBI profiler is now looking forward to his latest venture, opening a bookstore in Paris which for him is a dream come true. He gets sidelined by his friend the US Ambassador in Paris to have a quick look, at a ransom note found at an exclusive chocolate factory. It is the history of its location that intrigues from the beginning. A former convent whose superior Sister Evangeline was famous. The chateau dates back to the 1700s and the present COO has no idea how to decipher the ransom note. A second ransom note follows, cancelling the demands.
When a body of an employee is found in the adjoining graveyard, also ancient and not used for centuries, the detection part gets heated and everyone becomes suspect. With a very small group of employees to work on, Hugo finds varied stories coming through and he and the local Detective Lerens who is Hugo’s friend have their work cut out for them. Their enquiries take them to not so salubrious areas of Paris, dealing with people who wish to divulge as little information as possible to the authorities. A second murder and disturbed graves, the discovery of a bag of partially charred bones, a secret tunnel and a secret chamber with the mummified remains of the famous Sister Evangeline unfolds a heart breaking story of centuries past. Frailties of human nature, the need to cover up scandals to save a reputation, bullying in the workplace, the difficulty of working being black and trans amongst closed minded colleagues, are all brought together in this story. The very modern chocolate production in a chateau from the 1700s alongside the ancient, forgotten graveside was interesting and descriptive. The setting in Paris is always a good one and this enhanced the whole story as well.
Thank you to Kensington Publishing for sending me this book courtesy of Netgalley.
Zoom in and see the details of this caricature. From Bangkok. Loved the expression.
No comments:
Post a Comment