Title: |
Die Around Sundown |
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Author: |
Mark Pryor |
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Category: |
Mystery & Thriller |
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Rating: |
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Date Reviewed: |
May 23, 2024 |
Cynical Henri Lefort works as a robbery detective for the Parisian police force. As a young man, he fought in World War I. Now his city is occupied by the Nazi and it enrages him that France's incompetent leaders were unable stop the invasion. Lefort is a smart-aleck, with snappy comebacks when people say something that irritates him. Unfortunately, all Germans irritate him, and so Lefort responds to them with remarks that could easily escalate into violence - the conquororing Germans are in no mood to listen to an inferior Frenchman. A call comes in about a robbery at a posh villa - the Princess Marie Bonaparte (yes, a wealthy descendant of that famous family) had a break-in. Lefort travels to the scene of the crime, and discovers other Paris detectives are already there. It seems that this was more than a burgulary, three of the Princess Bonaparte's staff were killed by the intruder, and now it is a murder scene. Homicide detectives outrank robbery detectives, and so this will not be Lefort's case. However, looking at the victims, Lefort realizes that there was more than one criminal, and so he saves the Princess from a possible murder. Unfortunately, Lefort's quick thinking at the Bonaparte mansion has brought him to the attention of the German authorities. A man named Walter Fisher was murdered inside the Louvre, and the Germans want the killer found before the Fuhrer visits Paris next week. SS Sturmbannfuhrer Vogel insists that Lefort must find the perpetrator before Hitler's arrival, or else there will be consequences. Vogel also declares that Lefort cannot enter the Louver to examine the crime scene, the museum is closed to French citizens while the Nazis prepare for its reopening (everyone knows that this means that the Germans are looting the museum of its valuables, which of course infuriates Lefort even further.) The chief of the French Prefecture has been forced to promote Lefort to a homicide detective. The chief tells Lefort that he has been assigned to work the case alone, rather than the traditional approach of a team of two detectives working a murder crime. The chief knows how badly Vogel will react if the case is not solved in time, and he doesn't want to risk two of his detectives. Lefort is on his own. Lefort has an unexpected ally on the Prefecture. A secretary who works there, named Nicola, is a bright woman with keen insights of her own. Lefort has her accompany him on his investigation, which begins with the body of the unfortunate Walter Fisher, now resting the morgue downstairs. Princess Bonaparte has taken an interest in Lefort after he saved her from possible death. It turns out that she is a psychoanalyst, trained with Sigmund Freud. She can see that Lefort is a troubled man (simple repetitive noises set him off - such as the sound of someone chewing gum or eating a carrot). She offers to work with him, to sort out the demons of his past. Lefort does have a troubled past, as soon many men who survived WWI did. This story arc launches a second mystery - what horror happened to Lefort during his war time experiences? Die Around Sundown is a carefully constructed tale, with clues and suspense. It has interesting characters. There is tension from the looming deadline, and Lefort's interactions with the murderous Nazis. The book is a fast read. I see that this is the start of a series and that the second novel, The Dark Edge of Night is already published. I will have to check the library catalog and get a copy. |
