Strangled in Paris

Starred review from July 22, 2013
At the start of this brooding and atmospheric mystery set in belle epoque Paris, the sixth and best yet from Izner (the pseudonym of sisters Liliane Korb and Laurence Lefevre), lame recluse Corentin Jourdan rescues an attractive young woman, Sophie Clairsange, from a schooner wrecked during a powerful storm on the Normandy coast. After Sophie recovers from her ordeal, she heads to Paris, followed by Jourdan. About a month later in Paris, Martin Lorson, a professional stand-in for a variety of workers in need of a break, is serving one night as a watchman at the La Villette meat market, where, to his horror, he witnesses a man strangle a masked woman. The crime attracts the interest of bookseller and sleuth Legris, who’s tantalized by the one clue left behind by the killer: a medallion with an engraving of a unicorn. Tense, dramatic, and clever, this puzzle should deservedly broaden the series’ readership.