The “reliably excellent” John Lescroart (Publishers Weekly), acclaimed author of the bestselling novels featuring attorney Dismas Hardy, here offers a rich and engrossing historical mystery that takes us to a small French town in the dark days of World War I and introduces us to Auguste Lupa. The rumor is that he is the son of the greatest detective of all time. And the truth of his mysterious legacy may come to light as he attempts to solve the baffling murder of an intelligence agent and uncover an ingenious act of sabotage.... “Raymond Chandler once wrote that the test of a first-rate murder mystery is whether you would keep reading it if the last chapter — and the revelation of whodunit — were missing. In the matter of John Lescroart, I would keep reading any of his books, even without that last chapter.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram “A gifted writer with a distinctive voice. I read him with great pleasure.” —Richard North Patterson “[A] master yarn spinner.” —Booklist
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"It was deliberate of Mr. Lescroart to put words usually associated with Nero Wolfe in the mouth of Auguste Lupa, the title character. The down side, being a child of the 20th century, I heard Maury Chaykin's voice in my head every time."
— Margaret (4 out of 5 stars)
" Good extension of the Holmes genre. Liked the connecting bits of trivia included in this book. "
— Jim, 7/18/2013" Definitely not my favorite Lescroart book. I enjoyed it but have never been a fan of war stories or espionage. "
— John, 4/29/2013" Quite the page turner - a nice departure from Lescroart's SF-based character Dismas Hardy. A view of WWI France and classic whodunit as well, starring Sherlock Holmes' alleged son. "
— Suzeesg, 1/8/2013" I don't really have much to say about this book other than it seemed disjointed. "
— Jill, 11/6/2012" Interesting Holmes pastiche. "
— Mary, 9/20/2012" Takes a little to get into, but once you do, it is worth it. I loved the character dynamics. "
— Kris, 9/1/2012" Took some time to get into, but once it got going it was good. "
— Susan, 8/23/2012" One review called it "a riveting thriller." I wouldn't call it either, but the conceit is interesting and the story well told. "
— Nell, 8/15/2012" Book on CD, very boring, would never have finished if I had tried to read it. "
— Janette, 7/24/2012" This is a great follow-up to the story of Sherlock Holmes. Of course there is some ex deux machina at the end but otherwise, it was a good read. "
— Triccia, 3/22/2012" An interesting Nero Wolfe/Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Good, but not great. "
— Troy, 2/13/2012" I had a difficult time getting into this, but it had a satisfactory conclusion. It was his first novel, I think. "
— Darin, 2/10/2012" Nice way to link Nero wolfe and sherlock holmes together. "
— Yosef, 12/19/2011John Lescroart is the author of numerous crime thrillers, including the Dismas Hardy series, of which several novels were New York Times bestsellers. His novel Dead Irish was a finalist for the Shamus Award, just one of many awards he has received for his fiction.