About this item
Hugo Marston, head of security for the U.S. Embassy in Paris, puts his life in danger when he investigates the murder of a celebrated artist, all the while fending off an assassin looking to settle an old score against him.Hugo Marston accompanies his boss, US Ambassador J. Bradford Taylor, to the first night of an art exhibition in Montmartre, Paris. Hugo is less than happy about going until he finds out that the sculptures on display are made from his favorite medium: books. Soon after the champagne starts to flow and the canapes are served, the night takes a deadly turn when one of the guests is found dead. As if being murdered at an art show weren't bizarre enough, the killer has theatrically displayed the body among the exhibits, just yards away from everyone.Paris detective Camille Lerens asks former FBI agent Hugo to stay at the crime scene and use his profiling expertise to help solve the murder. Very quickly, he discovers that someone at the party has a false identity, and not everyone there that night was invited. While Hugo is unraveling this mystery at the museum, his best friend Tom Green appears on Hugo's doorstep battered and bleeding, a barely-living message from an old enemy who has revenge in his heart and a target on Hugo's back. With a murder to solve and his own life in danger, Hugo knows he has no time to waste as one killer tries to slip away, and another gets closer and closer.
About the Author
Mark Pryor is the author of the eight (soon to be nine!) Hugo Marston mystery novels, six of which are set in Paris, France, but also feature London and Barcelona. The books have been translated into eight languages and the film and television rights were recently optioned to Like Entertainment, with a view to putting Hugo on the screen!Mark also authored two psychological thrillers set in Austin, Texas, where he lives. HOLLOW MAN and its sequel, DOMINIC, received high praise from reviewers:"[Hollow Man's] Dominic is not your grandmother's psychopath. . . . This noirish twisty tale will appeal to those who enjoy Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, and Pryor's own Sherlockian international thriller series starring Hugo Marston." - BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW "Devilishly clever ... As the mishaps escalate for the conspirators, so does the suspense, culminating in a denouement worthy of the neo-noir film classic The Usual Suspects." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW"Pryor's exquisite stand-alone is a gem. . . ." -- RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4 ½ stars (Fantastic - Keeper) "Pryor's skillful narrative crystallizes in the best possible way, in the novel's last sentence. Pryor ... can write realistically about the mind of a psychopath. Maybe that is useful for an assistant district attorney. It certainly is for a murder mystery writer." -- San Antonio Express-News"Dominic goes into action, pulling several diabolical tricks that solve the murders, simultaneously confirming Dominic's own status as a psychopath in a clever book that has a significant number of puzzles and an equal list of tantalizing answers." -- Toronto StarA former newspaper reporter from England, and now an assistant district attorney with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, in Austin, Texas, he is the creator of the nationally-recognized true-crime blog D.A. Confidential. He has appeared on CBS News's 48 Hours and Discovery Channel's Discovery ID: Cold Blood. THE BOOKSELLER was his first Hugo Marston novel and upon release was Library Journal's Debut of the Month with a starred review. RT Book Reviews called it "a fantastic debut!" and gave it 4 and 1/2 stars, and Oprah.com listed it as an "unputdownable mystery." His second in the series, THE CRYPT THIEF, was released in May of 2013 and reviewers said:"[G]ood character development, increasing levels of action and suspense, a complex and deranged antagonist, and - once again - appealing Paris settings. The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan's watch list." - Booklist"Haunting imagery in Père La Chaise cemetery sets the stage for Pryor's chilling sophomore entry, and the City of Light becomes a backdrop for Marston's adventures. The clever antagonist leads him on a merry chase that will keep the reader entertained throughout." - RT Book Re
