Albert is rapidly moving toward the top of my list of favorite authors. There are a number of reasons for this. First, he tells a great story that makes pretty good sense. You don't get to the end and then spend hours thinking about all the inconsistencies. Second, he writes quite well. The action moves right along and his protagonists are very interesting. Third, his locales are great. This one takes place mostly in Paris and Reims and he seems to know both places well.

This is the first in his "Stone Angel" series about a half-American half-French private detective (ex-Chicago cop and special investigator for the Senate) who splits his time between the Cote d'Azur and Paris. In this story, his search for a missing daughter intersects with being caught in the crossfire of an attack against a Jewish delicatessen in Paris. His investigation gives us excellent vignettes of the champagne-making city of Reims, Nazi collaborators, the French Resistance, competing French police organizations and their tactics, and a host of other things that give the story the depth and background that make the main plot more believable and meaningful. ( )