The Book Artist
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- 11,99 €
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- 11,99 €
Publisher Description
Hugo Marston, head of security for the U.S. Embassy in Paris, puts his life in danger when he investigates the murder of a celebrated artist, all the while fending off an assassin looking to settle an old score against him. Hugo Marston accompanies his boss, US Ambassador J. Bradford Taylor, to the first night of an art exhibition in Montmartre, Paris. Hugo is less than happy about going until he finds out that the sculptures on display are made from his favorite medium: books. Soon after the champagne starts to flow and the canapes are served, the night takes a deadly turn when one of the guests is found murdered. Hugo lingers at the scene and offers his profiling expertise to help solve the crime, but the detective in charge quickly jumps to his own conclusions. He makes an arrest, but it's someone that Hugo is certain is innocent. Meanwhile, his best friend, Tom Green, has disappeared to Amsterdam, hunting an enemy from their past, an enemy who gets the upper hand on Tom, and who then sets his sights on Hugo. With an innocent person behind bars, a murder to solve, and his own life in danger, Hugo knows he has no time to waste as one killer tries to slip away, and another gets closer and closer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early in Pryor's enjoyable eighth Hugh Marston novel (after 2017's The Sorbonne Affair), Marston, the head of security at the American embassy in Paris, picks up Alia Alsaffar, a beautiful artist visiting from the U.S., at her hotel to take her to the embassy Christmas party. The pair decide to skip the party and instead bond over a mutual love of books Marston collects them, and Alsaffar creates sculptures out of them. The next night, a murder at an exhibit of Alsaffar's sculptures at the Dal Museum spoils the event. Marston inserts himself into the subsequent investigation headed by Lt. Intern Adrien Marchand, who's less than enthusiastic about his involvement in the case. As Marston delves into the elite world of high art, he and Marchand engage in some entertaining repartee. Of less interest is a secondary plot that takes Marston's best buddy, former CIA spook Tom Green, to Amsterdam. The Parisian Christmas setting enhances the story's charm.
