Quick engaging read about Hugo's librarian friend Paul, a famous Hollywood actress and the transfer of her prized collection of emphemera and other items. This collection may be connected to a legend that actress performed heroic work during WWII helping the Allies.

Hugo's investigation along with the outstanding support of Camille Lerens, Tom Green a a variety of other police officers takes twists and turns to arrive at the truth.

Good read.

This is a locked room murder mystery with a unique twist. ( )

pretty boring. The writing is boring. The characters boring. But if you like a clue filled mystery-light then this is your cupcake of a tale ( )

And after the prequel set in London and the previous volume in the series set in Barcelona, we are finally back to Paris. Hugo Marston is an interesting man anywhere but Paris is what draws you into this series - he is the partner of Hugo and these novels are as much about him as they are about the city.

This one mixes both of his passions again - books and murder. A man dies in a locked room and noone thinks of it as a murder - except that Hugo has a feeling. He manages to convince Lieutenant Camille Lerens that something does not sound right and when more bodies start dropping, it starts looking as if Hugo is right. Add one of the most beautiful actresses in the world (now in her nineties), a cache of papers, Merlyn and her friend Miki who are visiting from London, Tom Green, still sleeping in Hugo's spare bedroom, and a library and the initial cast is assembled. And for a very long time, it looks like people are just dying - not being murdered. Until Hugo makes the connection between some small things and an old crime gets resolved, allowing a few new ones to be solved as well.

It was a good book but the killer was clear from the very beginning - as was the way the murder happened. It usually takes Hugo awhile to figure out what is happening but this time he took way too long to be believable (but then it may have been clear because a lot of other mysteries had used the way before). Tom's involvement felt almost as the way to go around impossible situations and the red herrings were falling apart while being constructed. On the other hand, I did not expect that final twist - even though the leads for it are all over the text - and the reason for why the killer did what he did was revealed late in the book. If you look at the novel not as looking for a murderer but as an exploration of why he killed the novel stands a lot better. But it was not constructed this way. And Pryor set the scene for something from Tom's past to come back in them future so we will see where that leads.

Despite being relatively weak as a mystery, the novel was still enjoyable - and we even get to meet another policeman that may end up part of the permanent cast but we will see what happens. If you had never read Pryor before, do not start with this book but if you like the series, don't skip it. ( )

This is a variation on the "locked room" mystery genre. When the head of the American Library in Paris ends up dead in a locked room where he had been working alone, Hugo Marston, the Regional Security Officer for the American embassy smells a rat.

Often entertaining, the book nevertheless bogs down a bit as characters from earlier in the Marston series put in appearances and must have their moments. Although I fingered the correct suspect pretty early on, the method for the first murder seems a little esoteric to be fair to the average reader.

Nonetheless, if you'd like to spend a little time in Paris, eating croissants, sipping coffee, and tracking down a killer, the book is good fun. ( )