The second book in Emilia Bernhard’s charming Death in Paris series, featuring two American sleuths in the City of Lights, is perfect for fans of M. L. Longworth and Juliet Blackwell.Parisian summers are for strolls in the park . . . and solving a murder–or two. When American sleuth Rachel Levis stumbles upon an employee of the French national library strangled in the bathroom of a cafe, she’s … strangled in the bathroom of a cafe, she’s not surprised to be asked to help with the investigation by her old acquaintance Capitaine Boussicault–after all, she and her best friend Magda solved a tricky murder only eighteen months before.
But right from the start, this case proves to be très difficile. When Rachel goes undercover as a librarian to determine which of his book-loving colleagues loathed the man enough to kill him, the library is rocked by more bad news: a priceless antique book has been mutilated. And the very next day, her favorite suspect for the murder is found dead in the stacks.
Just as the case is heating up, Boussicault pulls Rachel from the investigation. Undeterred, she and Magda decide to forge ahead with their own investigation–even if it could put them at odds with the police and in serious danger. With evidence and suspects piling up, it will be up to them to find the culprit–and stop more innocent books from being harmed–before anyone else checks out for good.
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I enjoyed the first book in this charming series, Death in Paris and gave it five stars. When I got the chance to review the second I did wonder if it might suffer from a sophomore slump but no, it, too, earns five stars. This mystery starts 18 months after the events of Death in Paris. It’s summer and the tourists are everyplace and Rachel is a bit cranky. She has taken on a project to write some hymns and it’s not going well, it’s stalled. She needs inspiration and heads for the library but arrives too close to closing so she goes in search of refreshment. As she is heading to the lady’s room, she passes the open door of the men’s room. Rachel has a little quirk, a peccadillo – she is fascinated by condom machines and just can’t resist taking a quick look. It turns out that there is more to see in the men’s room than the condom machine. There is a very dead man in one of the stalls. Rachel must choose which person to call first – her husband, her BFF or Capitaine Boussicault, of the police department. Hmmm, decisions, decisions. Soon the police arrive and she has to explain what possessed her to enter the men’s room in the first place. When she later starts to tell the tale to her husband, he knows exactly why she went in there.
One thing leads to another after awhile – Rachel is still stalled with the hymns and a bit put out about not knowing how the case is progressing.. That soon changes when the police find that the dead man’s co-workers – all of whom hated him – won’t tell them anything. Rachel might just be able to find out what’s going on in the library. It turns out the man was a librarian and it is possible to get Rachel into the library as a volunteer. Rachel being Rachel jumps at the chance to play detective again. All well and good but Rachel isn’t there very long when a second murder occurs and the police pull her off the case. Drat! However, neither Rachel nor Magda allow themselves to be sidelined and the investigation continues.
Rachel and Magda are quite a pair of middle aged ladies. Full of life and curiosity, ready for anything and living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The writing is so vivid that I was transported back to a city that I adore – I could hear the voices, the traffic, smell the food and feel the sunshine while sitting on a park bench eating ice cream. Rachel and Magda can be more than a tad bit annoying but that is part of the charm of the story. Add to it a good dose of twists, turns and red herrings and this was a wonderful escape. I certainly hope that there will be another mystery for Rachel and Magda to solve.
This was my first time reading this author and I enjoyed it. I loved the setting of Paris. It’s my #1 bucket list travel destination so I really enjoyed the descriptions etc. The mystery was good and the characters were engaging. I’ve read other reviews criticizing the plot etc. It’s a COZY people! How many people do you know that go around trying to solve murders and are involved in one every time you turn around?!! They are not supposed to be thrillers! If cozies were completely realistic then these people would be in jail on suspicion of murder and have NO friends because how many want to be around someone that attracts dead bodies? Seriously folks, it’s entertainment. If you don’t like them, don’t read them. I, for one, enjoy them and I really enjoyed this one. Thank you Ms. Bernhard!
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publishers and voluntarily chose to review it.
Another good book for this new series. It is the second one in the series about two amatuer detectives Rachel and Magda. they are in Paris when a body is found in the Library bathroom asked to help solve the case by local detective Rachel goes under cover to help solve the crime. A fun quick read the characters are interesting and make you laugh at thier antics. Great story to pass the time.
The Books of the Dead by Emilia Bernhard is the second book in this series and was an engaging read . I had not read the first book in this series but Ms. Bernhard provided enough of a backstory for Rachel, Magda and Allen that I didn’t feel left out while reading.
The plot is smoothly paced, the characters are developing as they sleuth through Paris, there were twists and turns to keep a reader guessing and only a few suspects as the body count grew. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of Paris provided throughout the book as Rachel and Magda investigated by following their suspicions.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.