Product Description

The brand new Eiffel Tower is the glory of the 1889 Universal Exposition. But one sunny afternoon, a woman collapses and dies on this great Paris landmark. Can a bee-sting really be the cause of death? Or is there a more sinister explanation? Enter young bookseller Victor Legris. Present on the Tower at the time of the incident, he is determined to find out what actually happened. In this dazzling evocation of late 19th Century Paris, we follow Victor as his investigation takes him all over the city. But what will he do when the deaths begin to multiply and he is caught in a race against time?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #462482 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Original language: French
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of quality historicals will welcome Izner's debut, the first of a series to feature an engaging and fallible amateur sleuth. In 1889, Parisian bookseller Victor Legris finds himself in the midst of a baffling series of deaths connected with the newly opened Eiffel Tower. The victims all apparently died from bee stings, but Legris suspects foul play. His inquiry coincides with another role outside his usual occupation, as a contributor to Le Passe-partout, a new sensationalist newspaper. Almost as soon as the bookman seizes on a promising suspect, that person turns up dead as well, leaving him with a dwindling pool, which, to his chagrin, includes Le Passe-partout's attractive illustrator, an enigmatic Russian woman with whom he's become besotted. The taut pacing and vivid period detail will have readers eagerly turning the pages. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"A charming journey through the life and intellectual times of an era" Le Monde

About the Author
Claude Izner is the pseudonym of two sisters, both booksellers on the banks of the Seine in Paris. They are prolific authors for both adults and children, and are experts in 19th Century art and literature.