On a freezing February day in 1860s Paris, a penniless young man in a cheap hotel is drawn into the schemes of a respectable-seeming servants’ registry office, whose owner and his associates, including the physician Dr. Hortebise, gather the secrets of wealthy families and use them for blackmail. A banker, a forgotten crime and a painter’s studio are all part of their web.
Intricate Second Empire intrigue from the father of the French detective novel. Download the free EPUB.