Customer Reviews

THE CHATELET APPRENTICE: THE FIRST NICOLAS LE FLOCH INVESTIGATION (NICOLAS LE FLOCH 1)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This complex murder mystery takes place in Louis XV's 18th Century Paris. A delightful young Inspector Le Floch arrives from the countryside and proves his mettle among a cast of quirky but somehow authentic-feeling characters. The writing (or the translation) was tedious at first, but quickly the characters and the story swept me along on a fun and sometimes even informative ride. And the best thing is that there are sequels, so I don't have to say good-bye to the charming Nicholas Le Floch or his intriguing friends and royal connections.

wonderful book of France in 1761 and a new young detective Nicolas Le Floch. Captures the period perfectly and a good tale to go along. When will the next one be translated into English?

Not as good as I was hoping. There were a few good twists in the plot however the development/presentation of the characters, Le Floch and the supporting cast, felt very stereotypical, had little depth and insights into the character were often just bluntly stated. Also Le Floch seems rather too perfect...no rushing to judgment, no real fits of fury, no signs of stress. One minute he is portrayed as a wide eyed naive young man with little experience and the next he is as grizzled as a senior inner city detective. So I could not warm to the character. And the supporting cast didn't have any depth so they could not rescue the book for me (in the Martha Grimes books the character Melrose Plant is what saves the books for me). Finally, the reveal was straight out of the Agatha Christie "You are probably wondering why I gathered you all here.." with an unlikely reaction from the guilty person(s).

Will I get more of the series? Probably not.