"From this edgy premise, Pryor spins a tale increasingly complex...The identity of [the] murderer is perhaps the least surprising of the many twists and turns this tale of love, hate, and misophonia has on offer. Wheels within wheels power this homage to battles waged without and within." —Kirkus Reviews
"Pryor has constructed a compelling wartime mystery, and he's made 1940 Paris a vividly real place." -Booklist
“Atmospheric and engaging . . . it chills and thrills in equal measure.” —Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series
"Visit occupied Paris in Die Around Sundown, a darkly comic mystery with a sharp eyed and sharp mouthed police detective . . . with a French flair into little known facets of history. A tale with twists and heart." —Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author of the Aimée Leduc series
"In this riveting new series set during WWII, French detective Henri Lefort struggles with the German occupants of his beloved Paris, as well as his own dark experiences in the trenches during the last war. Saddled with the murder investigation of a German officer, Lefort bumps up against his desire to do what’s right—and some of Paris’s most famous occupants. A love letter to the City of Light, Pryor deftly evokes the tensions of the time, and crafts resilient characters that readers will come back to time and again." —Erica Ruth Neubauer, author of the Jane Wunderly mystery series
"Parisian detective Henri Lefort hunts for a killer while maintaining a precarious balancing act with Nazi occupiers in this gripping and tightly-plotted mystery. With vivid historical detail and fascinating psychological insights, Die Around Sundown perfectly captures the danger and intrigue of wartime Paris, and the sharp-witted, grim-humored Lefort proves he’s a match for the best of the hardboiled detectives. Everything about this book is compelling; you won’t want to put it down!" —Ashley Weaver, author of the Amory Ames Mysteries and the Electra McDonnell series
"Mark Pryor’s Die Around Sundown is a wonderfully historic and a masterful mystery with the entire deck on the table, the wild card being that if Detective Henri Lefort doesn’t solve the case of the murdered Nazi in his occupied and beloved Paris—he’s a dead man." -Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire series
"The novel’s historical aspects and police detective will intrigue fans of World War II mysteries" -Library Journal
07/01/2022
The author of the Hugo Marston mysteries launches a historical series set in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1940. When French Inspector Henri Lefort shoots a robber in the home of Princess Marie Bonaparte, he unfortunately draws the attention of a German officer. He's promoted to the murder squad but assigned a case by Sturmbannfuhrer Ludwig Vogel. A German officer was murdered in the Louvre while cataloging artwork. Vogel gives Lefort one week to find the killer, hands him a list of five suspects, and describes the crime scene. The French are not allowed in the Louvre, not even the police, so Henri cannot investigate at the site. He knows failure will make him a scapegoat. Henri is a shrewd detective who works with a police secretary to interview witnesses, including Pablo Picasso. Running through the novel is Henri's story of service during the Great War, a history that reveals secrets he's kept hidden for over 20 years. VERDICT Convoluted and contrived at times, but the novel's historical aspects and police detective will intrigue fans of World War II mysteries.—Lesa Holstine
2022-05-25
A French detective helps the Nazis find a killer.
Even under the heel of the German occupiers, there’s plenty of crime in Paris, as Princess Marie Bonaparte, great-grandniece of the emperor himself, learns when she finds her fashionable home ransacked and her servants dead. Police detective Henri Lefort impresses her with his quick wit, which saves her from immediate danger. But much as Henri wants to stay and solve the case for the princess, Roger Langeron, chief of all the police in Paris, has other priorities. Sturmbannführer Jung has asked Lefort and no one else to investigate the death of Hauptman Walter Fischer, the German officer charged with cataloging the Louvre’s vast treasures and reassigning them to new homes in Axis-friendly countries. Jung gives Lefort a list of suspects and one week to crack the case, promising that he’ll repay failure with unspecified penalties Lefort can only imagine. From this edgy premise, Pryor spins a tale increasingly complex. Nicola, Lefort’s assistant, finds a Picasso drawing hidden in the dead man’s clothing. Marie Bonaparte, a trained psychoanalyst, bribes Lefort to engage in sessions with her in order to probe his pathological aversion to noise. A reporter shadows Lefort, revealing unexpected news. Suspects produce alibis provided by Picasso himself. The identity of Fischer’s murderer is perhaps the least surprising of the many twists and turns this tale of love, hate, and misophonia has on offer.
Wheels within wheels power this homage to battles waged without and within.