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“A lavish portrait of Belle Époque Paris…Mesmerizing.”
— Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author
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“A first-rate detective story, a sensational trial, and Paris when the Eiffel Tower was new—a wonderfully entertaining piece of social history.”
— Joseph Kanon, New York Times bestselling author
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“Levingston, who is nonfiction book
editor of the Washington Post and
knows a good story when he sees one, has given it a richly enjoyable telling.
Its lurid and improbable plot twists are expertly transposed into a breathless
true-crime thriller set against a sumptuous evocation of the boulevards,
nightclubs, and boudoirs of Belle Époque Paris.”
— Wall Street Journal
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“Levingston
has unearthed a whopper of a story, and lovingly crafted a dense, lyrical yarn
that hits the true-crime trifecta of setting, story, and so-what. Such books
remind us that times may change, but the human animal does not.”
— New York Times Book Review
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“An engaging—and finally
chilling—portrait of an uneasy era and a city of more shadow than light.”
— Washington Post
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“Fascinating... A rich portrait of
the period, as well as the intriguing story of a notorious murder case, with
its strange (and often amusing) cast of characters.”
— Boston Globe
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“Equal parts period piece, forensic
manual, and legal thriller, the book is a strong entry in the fascinating case
in a fascinating time genre.”
— Daily Beast
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“A terrific story well told.”
— Seattle Times
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“Readers are well served by his
reimagining of this amazing true story.”
— Minneapolis Star-Tribune
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“The book is lovingly constructed
from available sources, including newspapers, memoirs, and secondary histories,
and immerses the reader in a period whose new-found obsessions—science and
pseudo-science of the mind, criminal forensics, mass media, the macabre, and
fame—have a seminal connection to our own time.”
— Publishers Weekly
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“A fascinating and easy-to-read
true crime…[that] also explores the sensational reaction by the public and the
press to not only the missing victim but to the unique defense claimed in court
by Bompard. Verdict: Recommended for historic true crime fans, readers
interested in nineteenth-century history, media historians, and general readers.”
— Library Journal
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“The author foregoes the tabloid excesses and exploitation of
lurid details from that time and focuses on the debate as to whether a person
is capable of committing a crime under hypnosis or even post-hypnotic
suggestion….What could have been a silly
exposé of Paris, hypnotism, and detection is instead a well-constructed,
informative work by a talented author.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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“This is truly a book that will
take you to another time and place.”
— David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist
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“John Lee narrates this true-crime
story in the straightforward tone of a newscaster…Lee’s relentless tone will
draw listeners into the seamy underside of the City of Light.”
— AudioFile