Des kilometres de linceuls
mit einem Stadtplan, Nachgang und Anmerkungen des Übersetzers
2 Ex.

Second in the geographical series, this one is logically enough set in the 2nd Arondissement, which - at least in the early fifties - seems to have been an area rich in warehouses, newspaper offices, illegal brothels and cheap hotels: perfect for a detective story. Nestor Burma is called in by a Jewish brother and sister who have a wholesale textile business there. The woman is an old acquaintance - back in the thirties, Burma had known her as the girlfriend of an anarchist friend, whom he believes to have been killed in the Spanish Civil War. Now she claims that the boyfriend has re-appeared, and it soon becomes apparent that her brother is being blackmailed. The body count soon becomes as extravagant as the language, Nestor has to be extracted from several perilous situations by his sensible secretary Hélène, and all in all we get exactly what we're entitled to expect from a tongue-in-cheek noir thriller at the high end of the market. Excellent fun! ( )