Set in Paris in 1761, this is a fascinating, detailed and revealing look at French law in the reign of Louis XV and opens up the reasons for the coming revolution. The central character is a commissioner of police. As the bodies pile up the investigation uncovers plot and counterplot, gambling debts, prostitution, blackmail, revenge and more so you’ve got to keep your wits about you to follow it all, but follow it you must for it is well worth reading.
An unusual death during a society evening at the Opera reveals something sinister at the heart of the French court…
October 1761 finds the newly-promoted Commissioner Le Floch on duty at a Royal performance of Rameau’s latest work. Events take a dramatic turn and Nicolas is soon embarked on his second major investigation when the body of a prominent courtier’s son is found. The initial evidence points to suicide, but Le Floch’s instincts tell him he is dealing with murder of the most gruesome kind.
Jean-François Parot is a diplomat and historian. The Châtelet Apprentice was his first novel , and the first in a series of Nicholas Le Floch mysteries which have been published to much acclaim in France. The second in the series, The Man with the Lead Stomach, was published in April 2008. The third Nicholas Le Floch title The Phantom of the Rue Royale will be available from October 2009.
