Product Description

The brand-new Eiffel Tower is the glory of the 1889 Universal Exposition. But one day a woman collapses and dies on its second floor. Can a bee-sting really be the cause of death? Enter young bookseller, Victor Legris, who is determined to find out what really happened. This is the first of a best-selling series of French murder mysteries now available in English for the first time. The series is a colourful evocation of late nineteenth-century Paris. Murder on the Eiffel Tower was the winner of the prestigious 2003 Michel Lebrun French Thriller Prize.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24892 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
'A charming wander through the life and intellectual times of an era.' --Le Monde

'Evokes the electric atmosphere of Paris...in 1889' --Le Nouvel Observateur

About the Author
Claude Izner is the pseudonym of two sisters, both booksellers on the banks of the Seine, who are experts on nineteenth-century Paris.

Customer Reviews

Eye Full
A pleasant enough introduction the exploits of Victor Legris and co - there is a nice ensemble feel already about his band of cohorts. There are some incongruities about some of the translation, minor quibble really and no doubt there are difficulties in directly translating French idioms into English to give them similar meaning.

The mystery itself is dealt with reasonably well. There is a bit of suspense along with a couple of inconsistencies in the reasoning of the murderer (who is to say that a murderer will act rationally?) and the list of suspects is soon whittled down, although I picked the wrong one of my final two suspects by the denouement so I must have fallen for some of the red herrings. As other reviewers state, this is not brilliant, but on the whole this is an excellent introduction to what promises to be an enjoyable series.

Easy to read murder-mystery
The Eiffel Tower has just been constructed and is the pride of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889. But its glory is overshadowed by the death of a young woman, who was apparently stung by a bee and died as a result. A couple of similar deaths, centred around the exposition, cause people (especially in the newly founded sensationalist newspapers) to suspect murder.

The suspicious deaths are investigated by Victor Legris, a young bookseller, who is determined to find out what happened.

The novel is well written and easy to read. It contains interesting information about Paris in the 1880's and also a strong cast of characters. It doesn't quite have the psychological depth of some murder mysteries but is nevertheless very enjoyable.

Good beach reading. Recommended.

Excellent murder mystery
This was the first book that I read from Gallic Books. I am so glad that these publishers came into being because they allow top rated French novels to be translated and made available to people who's French may not be up to reading a full book in French.

It combines my 3 favourite aspects of an excellent read - crime, Paris and history.

I really got into the characters and found Victor to quite a hero. The descriptions of 19th century Paris are excellent and certainly add to the atmosphere of the book.

I can't wait for the next Victor Legris mystery to be available.