Fin de siΓ¨cle Paris: the world of Verlaine and Zola, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec; a time of anarchists, scientists, and occultists, when can-can skirts were raised at the Moulin Rouge and fortunes were lost on the Panama Canal. Armand de Valois was one of these latter unfortunates, stricken by yellow fever at the site of his ruin. When his widow Odette disappears into his tomb in the PΓ¨re-Lachaise cemetery and never returns, her maid DeniseΒ fears the worst. Alone in the great metropolis, Denise knows just one person she can go to for help: Odetteβs former lover, Victor Legris.Β When the frightened girl turns up at his bookshop, Victor feels there must be a simple explanation for Odetteβs disappearance.
But it soon becomes apparent that something sinister lies behind events at the PΓ¨re-Lachaise.Β When Denise turns up drowned in the Seine, and Odette's corpseΒ is found buried in an overgrown backyard, Victor throws himself into his second investigation, aided by his trusty assistant Joseph and much to his lover Tashaβs chagrin.
Once again, Paris and its denizens come alive, and events of worldΒ and local history give the mystery a thrillingΒ backdrop. From the theΒ Bois de VincennesΒ to the streets of Saint-Germain, from trams to carriages, from artistsβ lofts to coffee bars, diligently researched and tightly plotted, The Disappearance at PΓ¨re-Lachaise immerses readers in a fascinating mystery in the glorious City of Light.
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