Brigade Criminelle is mobilised when a fatal stabbing, an anticipated delivery of lethal drugs from Marseilles, and the discovery of a thirty-year-old corpse in an ancient turreted tower in the town of Puyceldome coincide with a frantic search for two murderous hitchhikers – all on Chief Inspector Pel’s patch. As folk-dancers, stilt-walkers, fire-eaters, and jugglers lurch through a night of carnival, Pel stalks his prey. Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries. Praise for the Inspector Pel Mystery series: ‘Totally convincing.’ Financial Times ‘Mr Hebden has created a nice band of flics.’ Oxford Times ‘Pel and his procedurals are some of the best things since Maigret.’ Observer ‘Chief Inspector Evariste Clovis Désiré Pel, as well rounded a character as Maigret or Van der Valk.’ Punch ‘Impeccable French ambience, unexaggerated flics, and a well-constructed solution. Hebden proves again that few understand Gallic cops better than English writers!’ The Times ‘Some characters grow as their saga lengthens and Pel… is one of them. You might say he is ripening along with the grapes.’ Police Review ‘…written with downbeat humour and some delightful dialogue.’ Financial Times ‘…all is most cunningly contrived and dovetailed into a coherent plot.’ Irish Times ‘A thoroughly entertaining read.’ Evening Standard ‘The best Gallic sleuth since Maigret.’ London Mystery Selection
