interesting setting; rather involved storyline

If you had read the other series by Pryor, you may wonder for a second if you are reading a novel from the correct series - for the first time (I think?) in the Paris based Hugo Marston series, we get into the head of the bad guy - and just like Dominic, the protagonist of the other series, it is the head of a psychopath (in the medical sense). The novel combines two separate stories - in one Hugo is a potential suspect, in the other he is one of the main investigators.

Hugo Marston, the chief of security for the US embassy in Paris, is on his way home when a seemingly disturbed man starts shooting and Hugo has to kill him. That makes him a hero - except in the minds of the people who do not think that Americans should be allowed to wield guns in France. And with this being 2020 (the novels are pretty much contemporary), the story gets a life on its own online and in the media. Except that there are some coincidences which need explaining and which throw a long shadow into the whole incident.

Meanwhile, in one of the old palaces in the city, an old French aristocratic family is assembling for their yearly get together - combined with one of the big parties for the country's national holiday. And in that august atmosphere, a young girl is almost killed. The girl turns out to be American so Hugo gets involved in the investigation and off we go - while his reputation swings from hero to villain and back and his future in Paris becomes a lot less secure, he is trying to find out what is the story of that wealthy family and the almost death there - especially when weird things keep happening (while trying to also figure out why the shooting he participated in happened at all - despite being warned off that specific course of action).

The novel is probably one of the most disturbing ones in the series and the end is as horrific as a book can be. On the other hand all of the usual secondary characters are here - the ambassador, Tom and Claudia, the members of the police we had seen before and Hugo's assistant. And they are the ones that make that novel what it is - even if they are not fully fleshed here, they had been here in previous books so it feels like another episode in a series you know.

Technically you can read this as a standalone - the introductions are there but... the missing backstory may make some of the characters feel almost like cardboard and Hugo's way of work feels almost too independent and too cheeky without some of that back history.

Now the long wait for the next novel begins again... ( )

THE FRENCH WIDOW: A HUGO MARSTON NOVEL is written by Mark Pryor.
Hugo is a former FBI special agent who becomes Head of Security at the US Embassy in Paris.
The series began in 2012 with THE BOOKSELLER. FRENCH WIDOW is the 9th installment in the series.
I have read several of the titles and none disappoint.
Good plots, good locations and interesting characters make for a very good mystery. **** ( )