Officer's Prey (Quentin Margont Investigation) [Paperback]

Armand Cabasson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Quentin Margont Investigation | Publication Date: October 1, 2007

In June 1812, Napoleon begins his invasion of Russia leading the largest army the world has ever seen. But amongst the troops of the Grande Armee is a savage murderer whose bloodlust is not satisfied in battle. When an innocent Polish woman is fatally stabbed, Captain Quentin Margont of the 84th regiment is put in charge of a secret investigation to unmask the perpetrator. Armed with the sole fact that the killer is an officer, Margont knows that he faces a near-impossible task and the greatest challenge of his military career.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Combines the suspense of a thriller with the compelling narrative of a war epic" Le Parisien

About the Author

Armand Cabasson is a prize-winning author and psychiatrist who lives in the north of France. He is a member of the French Napoleonic Society and has used his extensive research to create a vivid portrait of the Napoleonic campaigns.

Product Details

• Paperback: 426 pages
• Publisher: Gallic Books (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906040036
• ISBN-13: 978-1906040031
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,335,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whodunnit in Napoleon's Grande Armee?, November 30, 2008

By 

S. McGee (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Officer's Prey (Quentin Margont Investigation) (Paperback)

A Polish woman is brutally murdered and her murderer -- a probable serial killer -- attacks French soldiers who try to prevent his escape. All that is known is that he a high-ranking officer and probably one of four men.
Quentin Margont, one of the officers en route to Moscow with Napoleon and his marshals and thousands of ill-equipped troops, is assigned -- against his wish -- to identify the culprit. The trail of blood grows longer, as the Napoleonic forces battle the Russians and as the murderer grows more audacious.
This is a fascinating "whodunnit" set against one of the most ambitious military campaigns of history, and is not only a compelling read but a thought-provoking book about the nature of murder in the midst of war. (The film The Night of the Generals [Region 2] precedes this novel, but in the more updated setting of the Nazi occupation of Poland.) It will appeal to anyone interested in fiction set amidst military campaigns, or historical fiction with a French twist.
Cabasson's series has been slow to reach North America, but a second book -- which chronologically precedes this -- is available from Amazon.co.uk. Anyone able to read French can obtain the third in the series from Amazon.fr.

5.0 out of 5 stars Blood lust on the Steppes, April 17, 2008

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Officer's Prey (Quentin Margont Investigation) (Paperback)

This is the first time that I've read any of the "Quentin Margont" series but can wholeheartedly recommend it to other readers. Captain Quentin Margont is a serving offficer in the Napoleonic army which is, at this time, marching to Moscow, full of confidence and utter bravado. Ill prepared in the matter of clothing and equipment and lead by vainglorious officers, it's clear to some of the more intelligent men that this venture is sheer folly and doomed to failure, serving only as a prop to a man whose career and Empire are soon to collapse. At several of the staging posts along the way to Russia, horrendous murders occur with a savage brutality which goes beyond an outright murder, all of them on women and showing a blood lust and unspeakable cruelty. Captain Margont is commissioned by Napoleon's nephew, Prince Jerome Bonaparte to investigate these murders with the only clue being the fact that a guard was heard to call a shadowy figure escaping over the roof tops after a killing, "Colonel", before being shipped far away from questioning. The task of finding a murderer in a vast army on the move is a huge one so Quentin enlists the help of fellow officers who have appeared in earlier novels. It's a great read for lovers of history and murder mysteries. I commend the English translation from the French by Michael Glencross..excellent work !