A Murder of Convenience

Rating:
Summary: Engaging page-turner!
Review: For anyone who has ever spent time in Paris, and hence become immersed in the environment, this book will compel you to return to that nostalgia. The 'pension' which is the site of much of the action, is truly typical of student accomodations. The characters are interesting and delightful, enthusiastic in their amateur attempts to solve the murder mystery.

Almost all elements of the story are resolved at the end; there is the bit about the doppelganger appearance of two of the characters... I hope that Hannah Blank will give us a sequel and resolve this element. I also hope that now that Alphonse Dantan has been introduced, that he will re-appear in her next novel.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging page-turner!
Review: For anyone who has ever spent time in Paris, and hence become immersed in the environment, this book will compel you to return to that nostalgia. The 'pension' which is the site of much of the action, is truly typical of student accomodations. The characters are interesting and delightful, enthusiastic in their amateur attempts to solve the murder mystery.

Almost all elements of the story are resolved at the end; there is the bit about the doppelganger appearance of two of the characters... I hope that Hannah Blank will give us a sequel and resolve this element. I also hope that now that Alphonse Dantan has been introduced, that he will re-appear in her next novel.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific murdery mystery!
Review: The year is 1953 and the place is postwar Paris, where if your were young and had dollars in your pocket, you would be sampling the intellectual life flourishing in the sidewalk cafes and the art and artists found to be found on the Left Bank, and attending classes at the Sorbonne. Hannah Blank debuts both her own skills as a mystery writer and her fascinating protagonist, Alphonse Dantan of the Paris Police Judiciare in A Murder Of Convenience. Here is an old-fashioned murder mystery puzzle of twists combining the coziness of a traditional comedy of errors with an examination of the more serious undercurrents of the period in which it is set -- a city sill recovering from the privations and brutalities suffered under the Vichy government and the German Occupation. A Murder Of Convenience is highly recommended for mystery fans who will look forward eagerly to more fascinating adventures of Alphonse Dantan.