Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41749 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-01
• Original language: French
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Synopsis
Its France, 1761. Beyond the glittering court of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour at Versailles, lies Paris, a capital in the grip of crime and immorality ...A police officer disappears and Nicolas Le Floch, a young recruit to the force, is instructed to find him. When unidentified human remains suddenly come to light, he seems to have a murder investigation on his hands. As the city descends into Carnival debauchery, Le Floch will need all his skill, courage and integrity to unravel a mystery which threatens to implicate the highest in the land. This is the first in a series of six historical crime novels which has sold in excess of 400,000 copies in French. The author brings eighteenth century Paris vividly to life and the story features real-life characters Madame de Pompadour and Loius XV as well as engaging hero Nicolas le Floch. It is soon to be adapted for French Television.

Customer Reviews

Génial!
I recently bought 2 books simultaneously from Gallic Books but, as "The Officer's Prey" by Armand Cabasson proved a minor disappointment, it was with some trepidation that I began "The Châtelet Apprentice". I needn't have worried however!

Nicholas Le Floch is in his early twenties when he comes to Paris in 1761. Just to put you in the picture: France is then reigned by Louis XV (or by his mistress Madame de Pompadour?), successor of the famous 'sun king' Louis XIV (who was actually the great-grandfather of Louis XV), and France is doing poorly in the Seven Year's War which will, in the end, cost her all her American colonies. A letter of recommendation by his godfather, the Marquis de Ranrieul, assures Nicholas of a job with the local policeforce. Before long the police officer where Nicholas has found lodgings disappears, and Nicholas is assigned to the job. What begins as a simple disappearance soon turns into a lot murkier case when a first corpse is found...

I cannot stress enough what an excellent historical detective novel this is, with all the necessary ingredients of the genre. There's a whole gallery of colourful characters, all of them equally 'real' and credible. Not least the protagonist! Nicholas Le Floch is very well done: Parot has done an eminent job of painting the young and inexperienced but resourceful detective as he plunges into his first major case with the tenacity of a bullterrier.

Furthermore, however much I love Victorian detective novels set in London, Paris in the 1760s makes for a very welcome change, all the more so because Parot describes it in all its grandeur and poverty, ranging from the royal appartments at Versailles to the grimy slums. And, to top it all of, Parot does so in a very rich and colourful language, often with small but telling details.

A quick check on www.amazon.fr sufficed to learn that there's no less than 6 further novels featuring Nicholas Le Floch. My French being too rusty, I hope and pray that they'll all be translated soon into English!

Nicolas Le Floch rules!
This was the 2nd book that I read from Gallic Books.

Nicolas moves to 18th century Paris and becomes a young policeman with a mission to accomplish from his superior. The novel has more twists and turns than a maze and keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is. Whilst I was reading the book, I virtually accused every character of being the murderer, apart from Nicolas.

I couldn't wait to get home from the office so that I could continue reading this book.

Crime in pre-revolutionary France
The book carries a quotation on the cover from "Le Figaro" - "a new Maigret is born: Nicolas Le Floch". But why try and describe an original character in terms of an "old familiar"? This is Paris of the mid 18th century, and Nicolas Le Floch is the product of his times, when the ideas of the Enlightenment still struggled with the old order of absolute monarchy and social corruption. A wonderful insight into an old France, through which Le Floch moves like a breath of fresh air.