Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Crimes of Paris is a book about just that: the crimes that took place in and around Paris from about 1880 to the beginning of World War I. The book's "hook" is the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, but the bulk of the book deals with famous murders, murderers, detectives, and gangs of fin de sicle France. The 19th century was an era in which France, beset by numerous revolutions, changed drastically, and the urban landscape with it. The way that people interacted with each other changed, too, hence the number, and variety, of crimes that were carried out. Changes in technology and scientific thinking enabled detectives and the police to solve crimes that had previous remained unexplained.

If you come to this book expecting it to be solely about the theft of the Mona Lisa, you'll be disappointed (watch out: the story of the theft itself is sort of a doozy). One of the crime's suspects, briefly, was Picasso. You wonder why he was considered a suspect in the first place; he had no motive for stealing the painting, nor was he anywhere near the scene of the crime at the time it happened.

The book's strength lies in its descriptions of other famous (and not so famous) crimes). The reader is introduced to a host of historical figures: Vidocq, France's first real detective; Bertillon, who developed the science of anthropometry; the Bonnot gang, anarchists who were the first to escape the scenes of their crimes via car; Meg Steinheil, who murdered her husband in cold blood; and many more. As I've said, the "hook" of the book is the theft of the Mona Lisa, in reality unconnected to the other crimes related in this book. It would have been better had the book been described as it really was. Also, the authors make flimsy, superfluous connections between the theft and the murders. But other than that, I mostly enjoyed my trip to turn-of-the-century Paris. The book is accompanied by 14 pages of black and white reproduction photographs.

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!

In addition to the theft of the Mona Lisa this book describes several other sensational crimes of the late 19th and early 20th century in Paris. This is an enjoyable book and the reader will be introduced to a number of memorable characters and/or villains.

I picked this book out randomly and it was a fascinating read. At first, I thought it would be about the theft of the Mona Lisa, instead it was a contextual history of the Belle Epoque era of Paris. It connected the dots among crime, forensics, photography, the automobile, politics, scandal sheets, art, science and technology. Highly recommended.

I have to come right out and say that I rarely read nonfictional works, which is a little embarrassing for me to admit, but there you have it. But when I read about The Crimes of Paris I was intrigued and thought I would give it a shot--it would make a great review for Mystery Mondays! My initial reaction: I wish the book was more like what the dust jacket portrays it to be: an account of the true story of the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. That story is there, but it is drawn out through the entire book, along with accounts of other crimes that have tenuous ties (at best) to the theft of the Mona Lisa.

That being said, it was a very interesting read on Paris and its crimes in the early 20th century. Until reading this book, I had no idea that Paris had once been a hotbed of criminal activity, ultimately leading to many advancements in police work and detection coming from the City of Light. To me, that was one of the more interesting aspects of the book, along with the story of the Mona Lisa. One thing I have to say with regards to that theft: it was never clear to me that Picasso was actually a suspect, as the synopsis implies. He was brought in for questioning, but it was in reference to a friend of his that had been arrested.

So, if you are expecting this book to be solely about the theft of the Mona Lisa, you may be disappointed. I found that I grew tired of reading about various criminals and their capers, though some of the stories were certainly more interesting than others. The Crimes of Paris was also an interesting study of the people of Paris in the early 1900's--I never knew how fascinated they were by crime and how much they sympathized with the criminals while distrusting the police. This fascination led to a profusion of literary and dramatic works revolving around crime and detection--this was the era when the true detective stories really began.

(Additional Note: My actual rating is 3-1/2 stars but I round up for sites like Amazon.)

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.

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!

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.

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.

The book is a bit of a meander. It is nominally about the theft of Mona Lisa from the Louvre but it is really a scattershot of themes and anecdotes related (and not so related) to the theft. These include the police's evolving methods of crime detection, the Parisian underworld and the less romantic side of bohemian cafe life. I guess this could be a drawback if you were dead set on knowing every last detail about the theft and recovery of the world's best known painting, but luckily for the book (and me) it wanders into areas that I found endlessly fascinating and welcome. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.