Published: Feb. 20, 2011
Words: 11,439 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781458124968

Short description

The Handbag's Tale is a highly-stylized murder mystery set in Paris, 1924. The story has a vein of dark and sardonic humour running through it. With characters as diverse as Nana the Snake Dancer, poets, painters, proprietors of bawdy houses, inept burglars, it's an unforgettable tale of a classic time and place: Paris, 1924, at the height of party season.

Extended description

The short story that inspired the series. Look for 'Redemption: an Inspector Gilles Maintenon mystery,' as well as 'The Art of Murder,' available at many fine online retailers.

Portly playboy banker Emile Danton is found dead in an alley. Shot between the eyes, there is an empty woman's purse beside him and seventeen thousand francs in his pocket. In the glittering world of Paris during the roaring twenties, the bourgeois had their seamy underbelly. All is revealed to Inspector Maintenon and his trusty sidekick, the burly Sergeant Levain. Not a police procedural in any sense, my book drops formula and substitutes art in its place. Every mind leaves its imprint upon its works, and the murder of Emile Danton is no exception.
What a surprising tale an empty purse can tell.

Tags

murder, mystery, short story, detective, noir, paris 1924

Available ebook reading formats

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Reviews

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Review by: 0Duke on June 28, 2011 :
The writer seems to be having an awful lot of fun here, but bearing in mind it is a short story, I loved it. there is a distinctively French feel to the story, some absurdist elements, and the whole thing is a hoot. Nothing and no one is who they seem to be. Lou's psychological observation is both precise and intense.
(reviewed long after purchase)

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