Picked this up on impulse from the local thrift store, and I'm afraid I simply could not finish. Despite some of the less than positive reviews on Goodreads, my fatal attraction to historical mysteries and bookstores led me to open the novel with a sense of cautious optimism. Not long after, my forehead hit the desk with a thunk because I got an eyeful this:

PROLOGUE

Cauca province, Columbia.

Book, you lost me at 'Columbia.' It's Colombia. Even more strangely, one of the translators for this novel apparently 'graduated from Goldsmith's College, London with First Class Honours in Spanish and Latin American Studies.'

I set the book aside, convinced myself I was being too didactic, and soldiered on about a third of the way through the book before putting it down for good. I can't fault the expertise of the writing team regarding Paris at the turn of the century, but the exhaustive historical detail and onslaught of literary references (which I normally enjoy) bogged down the tale. Hard to follow.

I like all the characters, but the plot doesn't really interest me. I don't really care about Odette or what happened to her or who the culprit is. I like Victor, and Joseph, but nothing else interesting. Not very satisfying.

Couldn't finish it. The story line dragged and the translation into English was poor.

This is the second in the French historical mystery series featuring bookseller Victor Legris as an amateur detective. He is pulled into another investigation when Denise, the maid of his ex-lover, comes to him, frightened out of her wits and begging for help. Her mistress, Odette de Valois has disappeared from the Père-Lachaise cemetery. Denise had accompanied Madame de Valois to the tomb of her husband Armand de Valois. The widow had been instructed via a spiritualist's communication to bring certain items to tomb in order to allow her husband's spirit to rest. She instructs her maid to wait for her outside and Denise walks around for a bit. When she returns, there is no sign of her mistress except for a scarf. The gatekeeper insists that the two women must have missed each other and tells Denise to go on home where she's sure to find Madame.

But she doesn't. All alone in the house, she barricades herself in her room--which proves to be a wise move when someone comes into the house and tries to get in...unsuccessfully. As early as possible, she heads for the only person she knows in Paris, Odette's former lover Victor Legris. He doesn't think things are as serious as the maid would have him believe, but he does agree to investigate because he can see that she is truly terrified. When Denise winds up dead, he is sorry he didn't take her more seriously and he and his shop assistant begin investigating in earnest. They will find a trail of murder that leads all the back to the isthmus of Panama where a new canal is being dug.

Okay...can I just say that I hope Victor gets more interesting as an amateur detective in the next book because I have four more of this series sitting on my TBR shelves and up till now he's just not doing it for me. A bookseller amateur detective in turn-of-the-century (19th to 20th, that is) Paris sounded like a good idea at the time. But if you're going to write a whole series about a guy as an amateur detective, it would be nice if the reader really wanted to read about that guy doing the investigating. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, I'm much more impressed with Joseph, the assistant. He's much more enthusiastic about mysteries and, again, if Victor would share all the information with him, I'm quite sure he could run rings around Victor as a sleuth. And Victor is quite frankly too hung up on his personal relationships. Last book's primary emotions was suspicion--suspecting both his latest love, beautiful artist Tasha, and his mentor in turn as the murderer. This time around he's focused on jealousy. He's jealous of the other artists and, really, anyone who gets a minute of Tasha's time.

As with the last book, the mystery itself is an interesting one and the characters involved are well-drawn. Père Moscou is a particularly interesting man with his intermittent bouts of believing he's still in Napoleon's army. He also helps keep the investigators on their toes (without really meaning to). The clues are a little less evident in retrospect, but there are still a number of good pointers for those who are alert. ★★★ all for plot--none for Victor.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

This was such a nice second story in the series. It is fun reading about France.

I always love a mystery... That is why I am so often forgiving when parts of it remain tangled. The Pere Lachaise Mystery was a book that could have been more captivating if there were less characters. I often lost track of who the people were and found myself looking back a great deal. To be honest with you, I didn't even like the main characters at all. However, the plot and setting were interesting enough to keep my attention. Apparently this book is part of a series wherein bookseller Victor Legris becomes caught up in becoming a 19th century detective of sorts. In this case, a maid involves him in finding the whereabouts of his former lover. What ensues becomes a quite convoluted plot, but I suppose I am a sucker for those detective novels that require some suspension of disbelief. I think that is why I may have been a bit generous with the three star rating... Maybe two would suffice?? Anyway, a decent book, but I won't be running to read the next in the series any time soon.

The writing was enjoyable, but the clues to the mystery were too obvious. I figured out the ending before the halfway point in the book.

Figured out the ending way before the got to it so I was frustrated waiting for the characters to catch up. The writing was good other than the too obvious plotline
I think it is more appropriate for a YA audience.

Reminder from: FrenchLiterature Yahoo! Group

This is the second book of a series of 8 books on Victor Legris murder investigations.

The first part of the book had many literary references, which made the reader to lose track on the murder investigation.

One this aspect is surpassed then the plot becomes quite interesting until its end.

In my opinion, some hints of Arsene Lupin style's can be felt in the main character.

And perhaps I would have enjoyed more this book if I had read the first book of this series.

Thanks Dagny for the invitation to join the French Literature Yahoo Group.

To those who love literary authors, you should visit Père Lachaise Cemetery where the remains of Jean de La Fontaine, Molière, Pierre Abélard and Héloïse d’Argenteuil among many others. Just take a look of this Gallery. I have spent several hours in order to visit the tombs of my preferred authors.


Miniature Portrait Plaque ~ Madonna in Blue ~ Hand Painted Porcelain Antique