It was fun to read about Paris during that period, but the dizzy protagonist and the contrived plot drove me crazy. ( )

I know this book has received some glowing reviews, but mine won't be among them. I really didn't get a feel for the detective Victor Legris. He seemed to be all over the place and not much of a detective. Characters streamed in and out of the scenes with little or no development. Even the victim was gone before we had a chance to care about her. I read about half the book, which was too much, before I dropped it. ( )

The Pere Lachaise Mystery by Claude Izner - good

Now this was the book I wanted to read when I picked up the first three in the series. The first one I found disappointing. This one was much better and vindicated my original choice.

This is the second in a series of mystery (possibly 'cosy' genre) novels set in Fin de siècle Paris featuring Victor Legris, a bookseller, and his various family and friends. A much better mystery and possibly a better translation as it was less clunky than the first book.

Victor's ex-mistress has been widowed and then mysteriously disappears. Her maid runs to Victor for help and initially he ignores what she is saying, presuming that his ex-mistress is away on a tryst of some nature. Regardless he agrees to help the
girl, but when she too disappears he gets involved in the mystery.

Not great literature, but a pleasant enough read and much better than the first one. I have less qualms about reading the third (currently on mount TBR) at some point in the future. ( )

This is the second in a series of books featuring bookseller turned detective Victor Legris. It is an entertaining read, with lots of background detail about Paris in the last decade of the nineteenth century. ( )