Why would anyone strangle a humble seamstress with no known enemies? When newly-married bookseller Victor Legris is asked to solve the murder of Louise Fontaine in the abattoir district of La Villette, he is initially baffled by the case.
In Paris 1890, Lady's maid Denise le Louarn fears the worst when her mistress, Odette de Valois, vanishes from the Pere-Lachaise cemetery during a visit to her husband's grave. This is the second in the series of Parisian murder mysteries featuring lovable hero Victor Legris, a bookseller and amateur sleuth.
Its November, 1891. The body of a young woman is discovered at a crossroads on Boulevard Montmartre. Barefoot and dressed in red, she has been strangled and her face disfigured. That same day a single red shoe is delivered to Victor Legris' Parisian bookshop.
The fifth Victor Legris mystery. When a bookbinder friend of Victor's becomes the latest victim of the mysterious Leopard, the young bookseller feels impelled to investigate.
The brand new Eiffel Tower is the glory of the 1889 Universal Exposition. But one sunny afternoon, a woman collapses and dies on this great Paris landmark. Can a bee-sting really be the cause of death? Or is there a more sinister explanation?
Paris is in mourning. At the firework display marking the Dauphin's marriage to Marie Antoinette, hundreds of people have been injured or crushed to death. Yet not all the victims died accidentally. The tragic incident on Place Louis XV yields a new case for Commissioner Le Floch when a strangled woman is found amongst the other corpses.
With Paris rocked by anarchist bombings, bookseller Victor Legris finds a new case to investigate very close to home.