The Saint-Florentin Murders: Nicolas Le Floch Investigation #5. Jean-Francois Parot
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Praise for Jean-François Parot
‘The period detail is marvellously evocative, Le Floch is brave and engaging …’ Economist
‘Parot succeeds brilliantly in his reconstruction of pre-revolutionary Paris, in splendid period detail.’ The Times
‘A solid and detailed evocation of pre-revolutionary France – the poverty and squalor, side by side with the wealth and splendour, are brought lovingly to life. And the plot has all the twists, turns and surprises the genre demands.’ Independent on Sunday
‘Jean-François Parot’s evocation of eighteenth-century Paris is richly imagined and full of fascinating historical snippets.’ Financial Times
‘Parot’s clever plotting and sharp eye for detail are, as ever, first rate …’ Mail on Sunday
‘… Le Floch is an engaging conduit for the reader through the teeming, phantasmagoric capital that is eighteenth-century Paris.’ Independent
‘The atmosphere is marvellous, the historical detail precise, and Le Floch and his colleagues are an engaging bunch …’ Guardian
‘An interesting evocation of place and period.’ The Literary Review
THE
SAINT-FLORENTIN
MURDERS
JEAN-FRANÇOIS PAROT
Translated from the French by Howard Curtis
Ouvrage publié avec le concours du Ministère français chargé de la Culture – Centre National du Livre.
This work is published with support from the French Ministry of Culture/Centre National du Livre.
For Arlette and Richard Benais
CONTENTS
Title Page
Epigraph
Dedication
Background to The Saint-Florentin Murders
Dramatis Personae
I The Passing of the Days
II The Saint-Florentin Mansion
III Knot of Vipers
IV Confusion
V Between City and Faubourgs
VI Diversions of the Heart
VII This Country
VIII Navigation
IX Approaches
X Bicêtre
XI Manoeuvres
XII Confrontations
XIII Traps
Epilogue
Notes
Acknowledgements
Also by Jean-François Parot
Copyright
Background to The Saint-Florentin Murders
For those readers coming to the adventures of Nicolas Le Floch for the first time, it is useful to know that in the first book in the series, The Châtelet Apprentice, the hero, a foundling raised by Canon Le Floch in Guérande, is sent away from his native Brittany by his godfather, the Marquis de Ranreuil, who is concerned about his daughter Isabelle’s growing fondness for the young man.
On arrival in Paris he is taken in by Père Grégoire at the Monastery of the Decalced Carmelites and on the recommendation of the marquis soon finds himself in the service of Monsieur de Sartine, Lieutenant General of Police in Paris. Under his tutelage, Nicolas is quick to learn and is soon familiar with the mysterious working methods of the highest ranks of the police service. At the end of his year’s apprenticeship, he is entrusted with a confidential mission, one that will result in him rendering a signal service to Louis XV and the Marquise de Pompadour.
Aided by his deputy and mentor, Inspector Bourdeau, and putting his own life at risk on several occasions, he successfully unravels a complicated plot. Received at court by the King, he is rewarded with the post of commissioner of police at the Châtelet and, under the direct authority of Monsieur de Sartine, continues to be assigned to special investigations.
NICOLAS LE FLOCH: a police commissioner at the Châtelet
LOUIS LE FLOCH: his son, a schoolboy
MONSIEUR DE SARTINE: Secretary of State for the Navy
MONSIEUR LENOIR: Lieutenant General of Police in Paris
MONSIEUR DE SAINT-FLORENTIN, DUC DE LA VRILLIÈRE: Minister of the King’s Household
DUCHESSE DE LA VRILLIÈRE: his wife
PIERRE BOURDEAU: a police inspector
OLD MARIE: an usher at the Châtelet
TIREPOT: a police spy
RABOUINE: a police spy
AIMÉ DE NOBLECOURT: a former procurator
MARION: his cook
POITEVIN: his servant
CATHERINE GAUSS: a former canteen-keeper, Nicolas Le Floch’s maid
GUILLAUME SEMACGUS: a navy surgeon
THIERRY DE VILLE D’AVRAY: First Groom of the King’s Bedchamber
MONSIEUR DE LA BORDE: his predecessor
CHARLES HENRI SANSON: the public executioner
LA SATIN: Louis Le Floch’s mother
LA PAULET: a former brothel-keeper
MONSIEUR DE GÉVIGLAND: a doctor
MADAME DE CUSACQUE: the Duc de La Vrillière’s mistress
MONSIEUR DE CHAMBONAS: her son-in-law
MONSIEUR BOURDIER: an engineer
MONSIEUR D’ARRANET: Lieutenant General of the Naval Forces
AIMÉE D’ARRANET: his daughter
MONSIEUR TESTARD DU LYS: Criminal Lieutenant of Police
ANSELME VITRY: a gardener
MARGUERITE PINDRON: the Duchesse de La Vrillière’s chambermaid
JEAN MISSERY: major-domo to the Duc de La Vrillière
EUGÉNIE GOUET: first chambermaid to the Duchesse de La Vrillière
JEANNE LE BAS, known as Jeannette: second chambermaid to the Duchesse de La Vrillière
CHARLES BIBARD, known as Provence: a valet
PIERRE MIQUETE: a Swiss Guard at the La Vrillière mansion
JACQUES BLAIN: a caretaker
JACQUES DESPIARD: a kitchen boy
GILLES DUCHAMPLAN: the late Madame Missery’s elder brother
NICOLE