The heroine of Timothy Schaffert’s latest historical, The Perfume Thief, certainly stands out in a crowd. Clementine, an American ex-pat in her 70s, dares to dress in tuxedos and trousers at the height of the German occupation of Paris, a time when bucking convention or being outwardly “Other” is exceedingly dangerous. But Clem, a queer…
In my review of Lupin’s first season, I opened with the difficulty I had in identifying what the show was exactly. Lupin season two is easier to nail down: It’s a show about a man who wants to get revenge in as stylish and dramatic a way as possible. Putting a bullet into the swine who caused the…
It’s appropriate that the Netflix series Lupin, a show named after a master of disguise, could be described in many different ways, with few of those descriptions being entirely accurate. Lupin has apparently proved more popular even than the previous Netflix phenomenon The Queen’s Gambit, but it’s also harder to sum up. It’s inspired by…
Despite being the subject of countless romance and literary fiction novels, the City of Light also wields the dark and disturbing ambience for thrillers. Dead end pedestrian streets, loose cobblestone, underground lairs, and mass graves stemming from epidemics offer up the perfect setting for a tense narrative. Get transported to Paris’ atmospheric arrondissements in each…
In Sophie Hénaff’s Stick Together, Anne Capestan is back with her squad of misfits. But with their status in trouble and a hopeless murder to solve, team morale is running low. I adored Sophie Hénaff’s debut novel, The Awkward Squad, a droll police procedural centered on a group of cast-offs that the national police could not fire…
Why set a thriller in 1920s Paris? This is the Paris of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, of Gertrude Stein and Nancy Cunard, of Josephine Baker in her banana skirt taking her pet leopard for a walk. This is a Paris of wild parties full of flappers and swells—surely this is not a place for spies, surely…
Mark Pryor, author of The Paris Librarian, shares some great stories about his annual visits to Paris, some of the historical details in his novels, his relationship with his protagonist, Hugo Marston, and a heartwarming tribute to a dying friend. Read this exclusive Q&A with Mark Pryor, author of The Paris Librarian, and make sure you're…
Aspiring authors often ask me how I found my publishers. With my first attempt, I sent my manuscript to a couple of publishers who specialize in crime fiction. I was fortunate enough to find a home for what has developed into a long running series, and since 2009, I have been busy writing British detective…
Ah, smell the fresh school supplies and this ripe shortlist for The M.O.! Read four sneak peeks of very-short stories, based on the theme of “Lesson Learned,” then vote at the bottom for the one you'd most like to read through recess and on to The End. (We'll be posting more about all the year's…
This sweepstakes has ended. Thanks for entering! These five books will hit you when you least expect it! Register to enter for a chance to win! This is NOT a Comments Sweepstakes. You must click the link above to enter. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. Sweepstakes open to legal…
