Murder on the Eiffel Tower

Murder on the Eiffel Tower is the first work of this writer to be published in English and is sure to please lovers of Victorian detective stories. Set in Paris in 1889 during the great exhibition whose centre piece was the Tower it features bookshop owner Victor Legris and his business partner Kenji Mori. Victor is visiting the Tower when a woman collapses and dies. A bee sting is the official explanation but Victor is suspicious and has the backing of a newspaper publisher Marius Bonnet. The authorities are not keen on any explanation that could bring adverse publicity to the exhibition but as the deaths pile up Victor finds himself drawn deeper into the mystery. The narrative creates an excellent atmosphere of nineteenth century Paris when it was the centre of the Art and Fashion world as Victor pursues the solution to these apparently motiveless crimes. The writer keeps the pace bowling along nicely and part of the credit for this must go to the translation by Isabel Reid. Congratulations must go to the imprint Gallic Books for bringing this, and other, entertaining French novels to the attention of English readers.