A Treasury of Regrets [Hardcover]

Susanne Alleyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2007

For police agent and investigator Aristide Ravel, the teeming streets and alleyways of Paris are a constant source of activity. And in the unruly climate of 1797, when gold and food are scarce, citizens will stop at very little to get what they need.
When Jeannette Moineau, an illiterate servant girl, is accused of poisoning the master of the house where she works, Ravel cannot believe she is guilty of the crime. With stubborn witnesses, a mysterious white powder, and stolen goods all stacked against her, however, he knows it will not be easy to clear her of the charges. But Ravel finds an unexpected ally in Laurence, a young widow of the house, whose past surprisingly intersects with his own.

In a large household brimming with bickering and resentment, everyone seems to have a motive for poisoning old Martin Dupont. But as more family members turn up dead, the list of suspects rapidly dwindles. Tensions rise and Ravel and Laurence must probe the secrets of the city's crafty politicians and confidence artists for clues to clear Jeannette's name. Finding information, though, in dissolute postrevolutionary Paris can lead to costly and dangerous demands.

From the author of Game of Patience comes a new historical mystery, bringing alive the sights and sounds of eighteenth-century Paris---brimming with atmospheric details, scandal, and murder.

 

Praise for Game of Patience
 
"Alleyn knows her French Revolution, creates a complex brainteaser of a mystery, and excels in making her characters believable. In short, this book has everything."
---Library Journal
 
"The Paris of 1796 comes alive in Alleyn's fast-paced novel. Readers will be surprised by the ending, with its twisted scenario."
---Historical Novels Review
 
"Grounded by a complex, haunted hero...the suspense in this layered mystery builds slowly but reaches a breakneck speed."
---Booklist
 
"Full of authentic historical detail, ranging from the rise of General Bonaparte to the antics of flamboyant incroyables, the story builds to an emotionally charged climax."
---Publishers Weekly
 
 
Praise for A Far Better Rest
 
"Engrossing right from the start...Ms. Alleyn brings the period to life.... The reader sees, hears, and smells the past and is, in effect, transported back in time. This novel appreals to the heart and soul."
---Historical Novels Review
 
"Alleyn's command of French culture and historical detail brings the story to life.... We can literally inhale the atmosphere of revolutionary Paris."
---Katherine Neville, author of The Eight and The Magic Circle

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The chaotic days following the French Revolution form the backdrop for this absorbing sequel to 2006's The Game of Patience, Alleyn's third novel, in which police spy Aristide Ravel and Commissaire Brasseur explore the various motives and opportunities of the Dupont family after their patriarch is poisoned. The late Monsieur Dupont's widowed daughter-in-law enlists the two Paris policemen when the family's servant girl, Jeannette Moineau, is accused of the poisoning—a charge Mademoiselle Dupont considers absurd. The investigation moves forward, but another death soon follows. With a light, literate hand, Alleyn includes a wealth of detail about life in France during the Republican period, while ratcheting up the tension with every chapter. Fans of Charles O'Brien (Mute Witness) and Baroness Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel) will be delighted. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Two points pertinent to this novel cannot be argued against: mystery novels set in the historical past are in vogue, and historical novels set in the closing years of France's ancien regime and during the Revolution are equally so. This author's newest installment in her mystery series taps again into both hot genres. She takes as her sleuth one Aristide Ravel, who is an unofficial investigator for the police department, enjoying a "modestly profitable career" helping to solve crimes--other people would call him, and do call him, an informer. That the reader is in the hands of an author interested in immaculate historical detail and accuracy is evidenced from page 1, which starts on the sixteenth of Ventose, a month in France's new revolutionary calendar. The police have taken into custody a young servant girl accused by the family who employs her of poisoning the family patriarch. Determining her guilt or innocence is the objective in this traditionally plotted and atmospheric whodunit. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (April 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031234371X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312343712
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,451,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The granddaughter of children's author Lillie V. Albrecht (author of Deborah Remembers, The Spinning Wheel Secret, and three other historicals), Susanne Alleyn definitely doesn't write for children, unless, like her, they have found guillotines, high drama, and the French Revolution fascinating since the age of ten or so.

Susanne was born in Munich, Germany, and grew up in Massachusetts and New York City. After studying acting and singing, and earning a B.F.A. in theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Susanne eventually came to the conclusion that, as an actor, she was quite a good writer, and that sending out manuscripts to editors and agents was still easier on the nerves than going to auditions. (She can, nevertheless, still sing a high C when requested.) Having been unwholesomely fascinated by the French Revolution since she read the Classics Illustrated comic-book version of A Tale of Two Cities, she set out to write about it. Her debut novel, A Far Better Rest, a reimagining of A Tale of Two Cities (what else?) from the point of view of Sydney Carton, was published in 2000.

Though a longtime fan, she had never considered writing mysteries, however, until she suddenly found herself creating a historical mystery plot suggested by an actual series of murders committed in Paris in the early 1800s. Police agent Aristide Ravel made his first appearance in Game of Patience and returned in A Treasury of Regrets, both set in Paris in the Directoire period of 1796-97.

The Cavalier of the Apocalypse and Palace of Justice, the third and fourth mysteries in the series and both prequels, appeared in 2009 and 2010. Susanne intends to cover the entire Revolutionary period in future novels. She would like to add that she speaks French very badly.

Susanne and her three cats live in Albany, NY.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alleyn just gets Better!, July 1, 2007

By 

Erin Bulman (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Treasury of Regrets (Hardcover)

Anticipating the second book of a series for me is like riding a
roller-coaster between high hopes and lows of remembered
disappointments. Happily, Alleyn's second historical mystery
featuring Aristide Ravel fulfills the former - it's a terrific book,
easily as good as GAME OF PATIENCE, maybe even better.
Pace, voice, dialogue, narrative are all beautifully done.

The fact is, I am a big fan of police procedurals, with
a pretty sceptical attitude toward historical mysteries. Why? Too
often, an author loses the main plot/story in an attempt to
recreate the setting of another time. On and on they go about the
details of an unpaved street, the people on the street, the quaint
habits, the colorful dress, the inconveniences... until the reader
can't remember why we are on the street in the first place. Alleyn's
talent is that she recreates the time IN the characters of her story,
not in describing their setting in excruciating detail. It is in
their views and reactions to events that the reader gains a
vivid insight into, in this case, the period in France shortly after
the French Revolution. The Place de la Concorde comes alive
through Aristide's reaction to the death of a dear friend on the
guillotine. There's another great example in the first scene where
we learn that Aristide is either an agent of the police, a police spy
or an informer... or maybe just a friend of the commissaire, through
the eyes of people of that time. (And, it recaps vital info about the
previous book without giving any of that story away. That's good
writing.)

Roughly, the story begins with the death of the head of a seemingly
well-off family, and the accusation and arrest of a simple servant
girl who is accused not only of the murder but of attempting to
poison the whole family (despite the complete lack of motive).
Alleyn weaves a twisty, fascinating narrative filled with lots of
secrets, more deaths in the family, and great scenes as Aristide
searches for the truth. I was often surprised, often guessed wrong,
and loved the terrific ending. All in all, a real winner.
Very Highly Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A page-turner historical mystery, July 19, 2007

By 

Mystery Fan (Columbia County, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Treasury of Regrets (Hardcover)

Appropriately (although accidentally), I began reading A Treasury of Regrets on Bastille Day. Aside from being a fine procedural with interesting plot twists, it is a fascinating look into post-revolutionary Paris. Alleyn gives us a taste of some of the sub-cultures of Parisian life which we never learned about in school. The characters live and breathe, and Alleyn communicates a real feel for the kind of political correctness which was necessary to survive that period in history.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating historical mystery, April 21, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Treasury of Regrets (Hardcover)

In 1797, the people are trying to form a republic to replace the dead monarchy. Police spy Aristide Ravel is at the jail when Laurence Faueconnet, the widow of revolutionary Aurele, arrives complaining that the police arrested her domestic servant Jeannette Moineau for killing her father-in-law, Monsieur Dupont. He became ill after eating a meal she served and arsenic was found in her room. Laurence doubts the girl could have hatched and carried out the plan.

Magdeline, the daughter of the late Dupont, does her best to convince the police that the servant murdered her papa. Aristide questions Jeannette and concludes the girl is innocent while someone within the Dupont family killed the deceased miserly patriarch. He questions the household and deems the victim's other daughter Charlotte knows more than she is saying. When he finds a family member hanging from a rope, he knows the murderer has struck again. Aristide believes everyone had a motive to see Dupont dead and the second victim as collateral damage. He plans to find out who and why.

A TREASURY OF REGRET is a fascinating historical mystery set in France just after the Revolution as readers see how the people adapt to the changes that came about. Aristide is an interesting character who cares that justice is served as he goes out of his way to prove the servant is innocent even when the legal system tries to guillotine his case with a fast fix. Susanne Alleyn provides a great tale that brings to life late eighteenth century France during a troubling fledgling attempt to legalize a fair justice system.

Harriet Klausner