The Dark Edge of Night (Henri Lefort Mysteries, 2)
This riveting, fast-paced thriller, the second in Mark Pryor’s Henri Lefort series, finds the wily French Parisian police inspector again enmeshed in a complex web of mayhem and murder. In December 1940, while on routine assignment investigating the beating and brutal killing of a French citizen, Lefort is ordered by the Gestapo to probe the disappearance of Dr. Victor Brandt, a neurologist working on a covert project at a local hospital. As the detective scours the dangerous, dreary neighborhoods of German-occupied Paris, Lefort discovers a bizarre relationship between his murder victim’s brother and the missing physician.
This shocking revelation triggers a perplexing sequence of life-threatening events. When Lefort also uncovers the grisly homicides of disabled, orphaned children used by the German doctor in clandestine experiments, the inspector faces the almost impossible task of unraveling these mysteriously linked cases within days, not weeks or months—that is, if he survives.
Pryor’s action-packed plot, structured within a ten-day time frame, compels the cunning Lefort to use his ingenious inquiry methods and bold, unorthodox sleuthing skills to solve these interrelated acts of violence. Lefort’s gritty, brusque, yet entertaining personality is complemented by a robust cast of quirky, engaging characters revealed through lively, often ironic, witty, and humorous dialogue.
Pryor masterfully portrays the devastating impact of World War II and the fortitude of the French people during these dark, sinister times. His vivid, descriptive settings, be they crime scenes, meetings at local cafes and brothels, or the depiction of dismal Paris streets in the dead of winter, are memorable. An exciting, tension-filled mystery not to be missed.
