An Aliette Nouvelle Mystery Series

In his heyday, Jacques Normand was France's Public Enemy Number One, a glamorous rogue who captured the imagination of the entire country. As he led the police on a merry chase, he also made the career of Commissaire Louis Moreau, former head of the Paris Anti-gangs unit...now the commander of a small Police Judiciare force in a sleepy border town. After escaping from prison, Normand fled Paris and has been neither seen nor heard from for more than ten years. And because the Normand file has lain dormant since before she joined the force, Inspector Aliette Nouvelle has naturally assumed that everyone's favourite outlaw is dead and the case closed. But one afternoon, Commissaire Moreau drops Normand's file on her desk. The Commissaire is convinced that Normand is still very much alive and in the vicinity. Find him, he commands Aliette. Bring him in. Put him away for good. Aliette Nouvelle is a new heroine for the 90s -- smart, single and intuitive, but more interested in quietly and non-violently getting the job done than in receiving front-page coverage for her sometimes unorthodox methods of crime-solving. She knows she is regarded as a rising star in the force and believes that her years of hard work and her excellent record are about to bear fruit. She senses, rightly, that the soon-to-retire Commissaire has chosen to pass the torch on to her. And so, although she remains skeptical, Aliette accepts his challenge. She sets out to dig up a forgotten hero. Her only clues are those she finds in the outlaw's out-of-print memoir, and in the gloomy face on a faded WANTED poster. Thus the cat and mouse game begins, and what a chase it turns out to be!

There's a deadly August heatwave and Inspector Aliette Nouvelle is looking forward to her upcoming vacation. She's been working hard, without much reward. Denied promotion to the coveted Commissaire's post -- which seemed practically guaranteed before the dubious Jacques Normand affair -- she now finds herself working under the new acting Commissaire, Claude Neon, her former assistant. It's hard not to be bitter. When Claude presents Aliette with the report on the murder of a Marilyn Monroe look-alike who had been the star attraction at the upscale brothel known as Mari Morgan's, he assures her it's an open-and-shut case. The prime suspect is already sitting in a cell awaiting questioning and psychiatric evaluation. But Aliette's instincts tell her that this is not quite as simple as it appears. Claude doesn't always agree with Aliette's methods, but he has learned from first-hand experience to trust her instincts: she's still the best cop in la brigade. He reluctantly hands over the case and Aliette embarks on an unsettling journey, the strangely uncooperative putes' clues leading her to a sisterly cult and the ancient goddess who rules it.

Pearl Serein is the most desired woman in town. Her lovers are the city's leading men. She breaks up marriages, and after she dumps her lovers, their careers go down the tubes. Celebrity gossip scribe Tommi Bonneau chronicles Pearl's every romantic move in the morning paper, Le Cri du Matin. And he is relentless in serving his story, keeping the ideal of romantic love amongst the rich and famous at the heart of the ongoing saga. When Pearl's ex-lovers start dying of apparent heart attacks, there is no criminal evidence, but the common fact of Pearl makes it impossible for Commissaire Claude Neon to resist investigating. Soon seven men are dead and Claude himself is in danger. When victim number seven is discovered, Pearl flees and disappears. Inspector Aliette Nouvelle, who is no fan of celebrity news, warns, advises and tries to help. But the inspector cannot prevent her commissaire from falling into trouble -- first as a suspect, then a likely next victim, finally as a pawn to bring a resolution.

Inspector Aliette Nouvelle's romantic life is in tatters. This sad fact becomes a heavy distraction as she goes back and forth from France to Switzerland, trying to determine who killed a Basel art gallery security guard found at a gay gathering spot on the French bank of the Rhine. A damaged painting of a shoemaker found near the body motivates the inspector almost more than the fact of murder. Aliette identifies with the image of a dedicated artisan working in solitude. With love dissolving, her work has become all-consuming. Aliette doesn't know it at the outset, but her investigation coincides with a Swiss police investigation into the murder of a well-known Basel art restorer. It quickly becomes obvious to her that an art fraud conspiracy is at the source of both crimes. While known for her unconventional methods, Inspector Nouvelle is also known for getting results; but will the territorially minded Swiss police who ought to be her allies keep her from closing the case?

In this fifth installment of the Aliette Nouvelle mysteries, Aliette is now, officially, Chief Inspector Nouvelle. After a difficult breakup with former boss and boyfriend Claude Neon, the inspector is transferred from an urban beat in Alsace to the south of France. She is given command of a small brigade at St-Brin, a sleepy town in a valley where wine is the primary industry and source of identity. When Joel Guatto, scion of an old wine-producing family, and recently defeated political candidate, is shot dead on the beach, it appears to be a politically motivated murder. But is it? As a political candidate, Guatto had been no threat, despite his efforts to rally local wine producers incensed by the cheap Spanish wine imports that are jeopardizing their livelihood. A political amateur, Guatto managed to lose not only the vote, but also his campaign manager-turned-lover, Stephanie McLeod. The scope of Aliette's investigation widens when it turns out that Stephanie has ties to a Europe-wide anarchist network. Aliette needs Stephanie for her murder case. But French secret service agent Margot Tessier is determined to use the young woman as a disposable pawn in her quest for a much bigger target. Aliette must get to Stephanie first.

HQ has ruled that Chief Inspector Aliette Nouvelle's failure to carry her gun directly contributed to the messy conclusion of a major murder case she'd led the previous summer. Her career now depends on a drastic about-face. Aliette has been ordered to come into the city to practice at the Beziers police shooting range and attend counselling sessions two nights a week with psychologist Gabrielle Gravel. For Aliette, this is not only humiliating, it's inconvenient. Beziers is a 40-kilometre drive from her home base in Saint-Brin, a sleepy wine town in the south of France. But she will required to attend until she can prove she is prepared to use deadly force in the execution of her duties. Meanwhile, a killing spree is taking place in Beziers. After the first savage knifing of a homeless young man, a deranged street person is suspected. But the working theory changes when victim number three turns out to be PJ Inspector Pierre Trop&eacuteano. A knife is left in his gut, and his gun is gone. It will be used to kill the next victim, another homeless young person. As she navigates Beziers' night streets, trying to come to terms with the SIG Sauer SP2022 in her holster and how it affects her core identity, Inspector Nouvelle finds clues to the whereabouts of Trop&eacuteano's gun -- and a killer. Aliette's unofficial, off-duty investigation is motivated by a need to defend her beleaguered colleague, Chief Inspector Nabi Zidane, head of the city-based Police Judiciare force. But the killings in the city are not her business. One false step and she could lose her job. Or her life. Is she ready to use her gun?

Luc Malarmé was one of France’s most popular rock stars when he was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend, beloved film star Miri Monette. After nine years in prison, he has just been released and come to live at his country retreat near Saint-Brin — Inspector Aliette Nouvelle’s home and base of operations. All Malarmé wants is to tend his vineyard and play music. But the citizens of Saint-Brin have neither forgotten nor forgiven his crime against Miri, or, it turns out, some ugly prior local history involving Luc. They let a fallen star know he’s no longer welcome in town. Aliette is appalled at her fellow townspeople. Hasn’t Malarmé paid his debt to society? Someone obviously doesn’t think so. The violence begins with the poisoning of the musician’s dog, and quickly escalates. Malarmé is badly beaten. Then his vineyard is torched and there is an attempt on his life. The shooter misses and the wrong man dies. Or did the shooter miss? Aliette loves Malarmé’s music. But even she knows the man is trouble.