Who would imagine that a teaching seminar for aspiring novelists could lead to murder? Especially in Paris?
The seminar is conducted by Helen Hancock, an internationally bestselling American author of romance novels. Her career may have peaked, but three ambitious would-be novelists have scraped together the money to come to Paris for two weeks for the opportunity to learn about writing and the publishing business from a seasoned professional.
Hancock is staying at the very upscale and exclusive Sorbonne Hotel, where she is a frequent guest. She's also working on her next book, and meeting with her French publishers to negotiate a new contract. Then by accident she discovers someone has hidden a camera in her room.
The American ambassador to France is an old friend, so she asks him for help. Enter Hugo Marston, chief of security for the American Embassy in Paris. He knows the most likely person to to plant a camera in a guest's room is a hotel employee. But before he can begin to question the staff, a bellhop, Andrew Baxter, is found, stabbed, in a stairwell. When Hugo and his friend, Lieutenant Camille Lerens of the Paris police, search Baxter's room they find evidence of gambling debts and a laptop that was used to download images from the hidden camera.
So now Hugo knows who hid the camera in Hancock's room, but not why; and it seems likely that Baxter was working for someone else, who may just be the person who killed him.
Meanwhile, Hugo is distracted by the news that a man with a big grudge against him and his friend Tom Green has been released from prison back home in Texas. Tom is convinced that Rick Cofer is out for blood. When Hugo is attacked in the street just outside his apartment, Tom worries that Cofer has found his way to Paris.
The seventh entry in Pryor's Hugo marston series features a complex plot with plenty of suspects and red herrings thrown in the mix, and as always, wonderful descriptions of Paris for wannabe travelers to savor.
Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.
Click HERE to read the review from Bonjour Paris.com
Click HERE to read the review from the Manhattan Book Review.
Click HERE to read the review from the Internet Review of Books blog.
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