The Book Artist by Mark Pryor

The Book Artist by Mark Pryor --- 269 pages including a map and Acknowledgements. Book 8 in the Hugo Marston Series.

Hugo Marston, former FBI profiler and currently head of security for the U.S. Embassy in Paris, finds himself the target of a vengeful killer while investigating the murder of an up-and-coming young American artist holding her first international show at the Dalí Museum in Montmartre.

The French detective in charge of the case is not fluent in English, and since all of the prime suspects are American, Hugo offers his assistance in interviewing the witnesses and potential suspects. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Intern Marchand seizes on a single piece of evidence to build a case against Marston's close friend Claudia Roux, who happened quite by accident to be on the scene just after the murder was discovered. Now Hugo has a personal reason to remain involved in the investigation and clear Claudia.

While this is playing out in Paris, Hugo's best friend, former CIA spook Tom Green, is in  Amsterdam, following the trail of Rick Cofer, a killer recently released from prison in Texas, and carrying an old grudge against Tom and Hugo.

With Claudia under arrest, a murder to solve, and Tom in danger, Hugo knows he needs to find answers fast before one killer gets away, while another gets too close for comfort.

Mark Pryor is the author of the Hugo Marston novels, The Bookseller, The Crypt Thief, The Blood Promise, The Button Man, The Reluctant Matador, The Paris Librarian, and The Sorbonne Affair. Most of his books take place in Paris, the city he loves and knows best in the world. A native of England, Pryor immigrated to Chapel Hill NC in 1994, where his American mother's relatives lived. He went back to school and eventually earned a law degree from Duke University. After graduating he moved to Dallas TX to practice law. In 2006 he took a job as an Assistant Prosecutor in the Travis County TX District Attorney's Office, where he continues to work today.  He lives with his wife and children in Austin TX.

Click HERE to read a profile of Pryor from the Houstonia Magazine.

Click HERE to read a review of The Book Artist from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read a review from Book People.

Click HERE to read an interview with Pryor about The Book Artist from thebigthrill.org.