Murder on the Eiffel Tower

If you enjoy a good who-done-it with a wonderful setting, then this series is for you. The setting was fantastic and the time period also helps to set the stage for a wonderful read. There are a few mentioned areas of Paris. So I would suggest looking them up on a map to get an even better feel for the book. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. I came to like the main characters and look forward to the next book in the series.

In 1889 while the Buffalo Bill show parades through the streets of Paris as part of World Exposition extravaganza, a rag and bone man dies from a bee sting. Soon afterward at the top of the new Eiffel Tower, Parisian bookstore owner and photographer Victor Legris watches as a woman, Eugenie Patinot, apparently dies from a bee sting. Victor meets with his business partner Kenji Mori, his friend reporter Marius Bonnet and Russian illustrator Tasha Kherson. With a common interest to spark them, Victor and Tasha become an entry. When a third "bee sting" death occurs near the Colonial Palace, Victor investigates hoping he can write an article for Le Passe-partout. In some ways more a historical thriller than an amateur sleuth, MURDER ON THE EIFFEL TOWER is in either case a terrific tale. Readers will be caught up with Victor's energy as he escorts the audience around Paris at an exciting time for the city. The whodunit is cleverly devised to provide fans with a strong mystery, but the entertaining story line belongs to the hero and his supporting cast especially late nineteenth century Paris at a time when technology is booming. Harriet Klausner

Claude Izner is the pen-name of two sisters, Liliane Korb and Laurence Lefevre. Both are booksellers on the banks of the Seine, and they are experts on nineteenth-century Paris. "Murder of the Eiffel Tower" was first published in 2003 - originally as "Mystère rue des Saints-Pères" in France. The book is set in 1889, with much of the action taking place on and around the Eiffel Tower - which had been built for the Universal Exposition, being held that year in Paris. Victor Legris is approaching 30 and co-runs a bookshop in Paris' sixth arrondissement. Victor and his business partner, Kenji Mori, are very close - Victor's father died when he was eight, and he was pretty much raised by Kenji. He firmly believes that neither he nor his mother would ever have survived without Kenji's assistance. Victor makes his first appearance on the Eiffel Tower - he's there to meet Marius Bonnet, a friend of his for several years. Marius, until recently, was a reporter with Le Temps - but he has recently opened his own newspaper, Le Passe-Partout. There is an opening at the new journal for a Literary Columnist and - unknown to Victor - Marius aims to persuade him to take the position. At the meeting on the Tower, Victor is introduced to the newspaper's other staff - and he's immediately taken with Tasha Kherson, the paper's illustrator and caricaturist. (Photography is still in its early days, and it seems to be Victor's chief hobby). Kenji is also at the meeting, although he arrives a little late...though Tasha doesn't make quite the impression on him that she made on Victor. Unfortunately, the meeting breaks up early when news filters through that a woman has died on the Tower's - very close to where the journalists had been meeting. Eugenie Patinot had been visiting with two nephews and a niece. The children had been instructed to sign the Golden Book in the Figaro Pavillion, on the Tower's second floor. (It'll get their names in the paper). However, Eugenie - who didn't have much of a head for heights - had decided not to go beyond the first floor. Unfortunately, her last moments begin when someone stumbles and leans on her...and she feels something sting her on the base of her neck. However, she isn't the first person to die after having apparently been stung... An easy and enjoyable read, with plenty of historical trivia and the odd touch of humour here and there.

The Eiffel Tower is an icon now. Inspiring. Symbolic. Beautiful. But in 1889 the Eiffel Tower was more than that, it was a sensation, loved as symbol of beauty and France's technological prowess and a despised as an ugly monstrosity by others. The word's attention was focused on France in 1889, as Paris was host to the World's Fair and the Eiffel Tower, soaring above the ancient city. Among the throngs visiting the Eiffel Tower is a woman taking her sister's children on an outing. She is apparently stung by a bee and mysteriously dies. The staff of a new, struggling newspaper happen to be nearby and their scoop beats Le Matin and the other major newspapers and circulation soars. Also nearby is Victor Legris, a bookseller who becomes interested in the woman's mysterious death. And so the story begins. As a second, similarly mysterious death occurs and then another, Legris digs deeper. For lovers of historical mysteries, Murder on the Eiffel Tower is a gem. It is the debut novel of Claude Izner, interestingly enough a pseudonym of two Parisian women who are themselves booksellers. The plot is well-paced and the characters highly credible. The background....the Eiffel Tower, the World's Fair, the increasing popularity of Impressionist painters, French economic and political prowess, and the city of Paris itself......is a tremendous asset, and in fact, Paris, in all its intricacies and mystique is a character in itself. So, high marks to this new duo writing as Claude Izner. Several more novels are planned with Victor Legris as detective, and I for one will keep my eyes peeled for the next edition.

Although the emphasis is more on history than mystery and Victor Legris is as much lover as detective, anyone who enjoys Paris will have a good read here. The book is full of atmosphere and delicious historical details about art, books, the Eiffel Tower's early months, and the exposition for which the tower was built. Characters are deftly drawn and settings carefully described. (A map of central Paris with locations marked would have been a useful addition.) The story flows as naturally and smoothly as the Seine from beginning to end. The owners of the Elzévir book shop--Victor Legris and Kenji Mori--and their long-suffering assistant Joseph Pignot are appealing and believable. The strange events starting with death by a bee sting are all tied together at the end as neatly as a parcel of books from the Elzévir Bookshop. But real stars of this show are the Awful Tower itself and fin-de-siècle Paris. That this is just the first of a series featuring Paris and Victor Legris is welcome news. (Two others are already available and a fourth is promised for next year.)

What a delightful romp through 19th century Paris! Murder on the Eiffel Tower is the first in a series that shows much promise for many enjoyable future reads. Although this is a debut in the USA, two other installments have already been published in France, waiting for translation. The setting is late 1800s Paris at the time of the Worlds' Exhibition which dazzles the local Parisians with it's many marvels and wonders from around the world. At the same time we have the unveiling of the famous Eiffel Tower, both events showcasing a variety of mysterious murders thought to be caused by bee stings. To unravel these cryptic and unusual deaths comes young Victor Legris, a local Antiquarian bookseller caught up in the melee and who soon suspects his own business partner may be the murderer. The novel offers great character development, good plots with twists and turns, great historical backdrop and plenty of action and intrique to keep the reader turning the pages. Not being able to put this wonderful book down, I found it a breath of fresh air and a pure delight to read. I eagerly await book two and three which I have already ordered UK copies of. I simply cant' wait another year or more for US translations to get here. Dont' miss this sparkling debut. It's fun, it's different and darn good simple old fashioned murder mystery.