Plot: It's the year 1818, Paris, France. When a perplexing murder case led by the mysterious and feared Vidocq leads to a young, timid medical student named Hector Carpentier, it morphs into a search for the "dead" dauphin Louis-Charles, son of the late Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI.
Comments: I plucked this book at random off the library shelf, and am I glad I did! At first I wasn't sure: it seemed like it might be tedious, maybe a little too...educated? I really just wanted a nice, entertaining fiction novel. Turns out, that's exactly what this is. This story is extremely interesting and I had to force myself to put it down from time to time to actually get some work done. It twists and turns in unexpected ways and was slightly confusing - mostly because I didn't try very hard at memorizing the names, titles, and relations of people that ended up reappearing later in the story, to my surprise (I would flip back and skim pages, trying to find out who so-and-so was and what they were doing back in the plot).
I immediately liked the main character, Hector, because of his awkwardness and innocence. As the story progressed, I appreciated how he slowly morphed into a more confident, self-suffient human being. Vidocq was an interesting character; he was quirky, astonishingly clever, and rather terrifying. He and Hector made a good team at balancing out the story. Together they made me laugh, wonder, and unsuccessfully attempt to guess the ending. A great mystery, intruiging and mystifying.
Rating: I rate this book an eight out of ten. I loved it!
Comments: I plucked this book at random off the library shelf, and am I glad I did! At first I wasn't sure: it seemed like it might be tedious, maybe a little too...educated? I really just wanted a nice, entertaining fiction novel. Turns out, that's exactly what this is. This story is extremely interesting and I had to force myself to put it down from time to time to actually get some work done. It twists and turns in unexpected ways and was slightly confusing - mostly because I didn't try very hard at memorizing the names, titles, and relations of people that ended up reappearing later in the story, to my surprise (I would flip back and skim pages, trying to find out who so-and-so was and what they were doing back in the plot).
I immediately liked the main character, Hector, because of his awkwardness and innocence. As the story progressed, I appreciated how he slowly morphed into a more confident, self-suffient human being. Vidocq was an interesting character; he was quirky, astonishingly clever, and rather terrifying. He and Hector made a good team at balancing out the story. Together they made me laugh, wonder, and unsuccessfully attempt to guess the ending. A great mystery, intruiging and mystifying.
Rating: I rate this book an eight out of ten. I loved it!
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