Fatal Carnival (Anne Cartier Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Charles O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Series: Anne Cartier Mysteries | Publication Date: September 1, 2006

The latest in Charles O?Brien's acclaimed French Revolution series January 1788. Anne Cartier and her husband Paul, Provost of the Paris Highway Patrol, are spending the winter in Nice, at the home of a wealthy English couple, Thomas and Beverly Parker. Anne hopes that the milder climate and enforced break from work will cure her husband's chronic cough. But when news reaches them of the escape from Toulon naval prison of convict Jean Lebrun, imprisoned 20 years earlier for the apparent murder of his master, Paul cannot resist the temptation to investigate. Together with his adjutant Georges, still based in Paris, he makes enquiries that lead the team to believe that Lebrun was innocent, and unjustly condemned. Anne, meanwhile, has been drawn against her will into the unsavoury affairs of the expatriate community of Nice ? a motley collection of characters all with their own reasons for being there?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1788, O'Brien's well-written fifth historical (after 2005's Lethal Beauty) takes Anne Cartier, a teacher of the deaf and an experienced amateur sleuth, and her husband, Paul de Saint-Martin, Provost of the Royal Highway Patrol for the area surrounding Paris, to Nice, where they're spending the winter with a well-to-do English couple. The escape of a convicted murderer, Jean Lebrun, from Toulon naval prison leads to an official reopening of his case. Paul, who suspects Lebrun is innocent, reinvestigates the two-decades-old murder, while Anne soon finds herself dealing with a new killing that may be related. O'Brien doesn't play on the political undercurrents of prerevolutionary France as much as he did in earlier books, but series fans will find the usual meticulous attention to period detail. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

Anne Cartier and her husband, Paul, provost of the Paris Highway Patrol in eighteenth-century France, are vacationing in Nice, where they hope the pleasant climate will help Paul recover from stress-induced malaise. Then they learn that Jean LeBrun, a skilled artisan imprisoned 20 years earlier for killing his master, has escaped from prison and may be hiding nearby. Paul is intrigued, especially since some suggest LeBrun was framed for his master's murder. He sets off for Paris to enlist the help of his trusted adjutant. Meanwhile, Anne, whose keen amateur detecting has helped Paul solve previous cases, decides to launch her own investigation in Nice, where the crime took place two decades ago. But her attention is diverted when a rakish army captain is brutally murdered at the country estate where she's staying. Can this crime have a connection with the LeBrun case? Solidly written, carefully researched, and inventively plotted, O'Brien's latest installment in this likable series will thoroughly satisfy historical-mystery fans who relish an extra helping of richly flavored period detail. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers; 1 edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727864033
• ISBN-13: 978-0727864031
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,046,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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