The Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection

Especially the theft of the Mona Lisa, but other ordinary crimes also, and the development of the methods of detection. Great read.

Much more than a book about crime in turn-of-the-20th-century Paris, The Crimes of Paris is an absorbing cultural and social history about the City of Light during the period known as the Belle Epoque. In careful prose, the authors describe a number of important discoveries and achievements in science, technology, art, and literature, and recount the impact that these new forces had on those who lived during this era. As suggested by the book's cover, murder, theft, and detection form the basis around which the authors weave their narrative, but they also develop other themes, including the public's fascination with crime and with criminals who triumph over the forces of law and public order. Readers who seek a good crime story that builds to a climactic denouement might feel frustrated with the seemingly deliberate, uneven manner in which the narrative unfolds. However, for those who have the patience to read through the chapters, their reward will be keen insight into the spirit of the age, before that world was swept away with the onslaught of WWI.

This book describes perhaps the nicest period in life of Paris - the very end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The wounds of the 1870 war with Germany have healed, and the disaster of World War 1 has not yet erupted. France is at the top of the world, and its key personalities flit through the pages of this sophisticated and fast-paced book. Blerio flies his tiny airplane across the English channel, we meet both Poincares - the mathematician and the premier, Guillaume Apollinaire is busy promoting his new Spanish painter friend, Pablo Picasso, and both become involved, more or less innocently in the purchase of Etruscan statuettes stolen from the sleepy Louvre, while Marcel Proust leaves his cork-lined room to sit in on a sensational murder trial. The Crimes of Paris begins and ends with the story of the crime of the century - the theft of Mona Lisa from the Louvre. That event provides the two bookends - the crime itself in the beginning and its spectacular resolution, sure to shock you even today, in the end. In between, you see a caleidoscopic picture of Parisian underworld. Prostitutes lure johns to their deaths; a gang stages the first ever escape from a bank robbery in a car; and you discover how long it takes to put three condemned criminals through a single guillotine - 40 seconds. You meet great criminologists, such as Bertillon and Vucetic, and sit in on the Dreyfus trial and re-trial. The fast-paced action, engaging writing, and a great sense of history make this book a piece of brain candy, addictive and impossible to put down. The authors' ability to weave so many strands into a cogent whole makes for a very pleasurable read. My one gripe: one of the earlier reviewers called the book `scattered.' In fact the book is wonderfully impressionistic but very clearly woven together. That guy reminded me of a yahoo who stands in front of a Matisse or a Picasso and mutters, `my kid could paint that.' You are in for an engaging and pleasurable read!

Not only a story about the crimes of Paris in the early 20th century but a fascinating look at the arts, culture, and science of the time and place. Interweaving sections on detective fiction, criminal investigations, artistic developments, and other topics, the authors manage to tell an engaging and suspenseful story that reads like a detective novel itself. The background story, which develops throughout the book, describes the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. This is really a wonderful, seamless, suspenseful book that will keep your reading well past your bedtime.

What starts out as the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum in Paris progresses as a fascinating series of "portraits" and little know facts about the criminals and crimes of Paris in the post Haussmann city. The writing is first-rate and one is carried along on a roller coaster of famous and infamous characters indirectly and directly involved with the theft of the famous painting and the crime raging Paris in the nineteeth century. Particularly interesting are the portions which tell about public executions before the guillotine was retired for good. The "portraits" of the various characters are beautifully defined and they seem to come off the page with vivid imagery. At times it has the atmosphere of "Film Noir" and this is interesting as what we know as "Film Noir" had not yet been invented. It is hard to put this book down. Each chapter tantalized and mesmerizes with a Paris none now could have known but is every much a part of how it evolved as a city of great fascination for generations of visitors. I was impressed by the author's lack of the use of hyperbole and gushiness which is so often a disappointing feature of this kind of book. One if left with many images and thoughts about Paris and Parisians not usually of the travel book variety. A absolutely wonderfully put together "real life" story with "real life" people. So many times I thought of Inspecter Maigret and Georges Simenon. First rate!

The Crimes of Paris is a non-fiction book, but you would not know it from reading it. The book is full of stories about the many different crimes that happened in Paris, not just the theft of the Mona Lisa. This allows the reader a look into the lives of the people within Paris. It shows how the citizens of Paris were fascinated with crime and longed for a sense of fear, Paris definitely did not disappoint. The criminals of Paris were aided in their delinquent behavior by the technological advancements of the time, such as the first implementation of the get-a-way car. As a history major I am assigned many non-fiction source books and I can say without a doubt none of them has held my attention in such a way as The Crimes of Paris. Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler do an amazing job turning the history of Paris' criminal past into an entertaining story. The story envelopes you in such a way that the book is hard to put down since you are transported to turn of the century Paris and fail to remember that you are even reading. I was first drawn to this book due to the cover and would certainly recommend anyone who picks it up at a bookstore to buy it. I was lucky enough to have been able to visit the Louvre last year and did not take the time to see the Mona Lisa, I will not make that mistake again after reading The Crimes of Paris. Anyone who has a love for Paris, art, or of history in general would benefit from reading this book.