Irène: The Gripping Opening to The Paris Crime Files (The Commandant Camille Verhoeven Trilogy, 2)

Paperback -For Commandant Verhoeven life is beautiful: he's happily married, and expecting his first child with the lovely Irene. But his blissful existence is punctured by a murder so savage that even the most hardened officers on the force are shaken to the core. In the face of the seemingly motiveless horror, only Verhoeven makes the vital connection the crime scene resembles one described in a James Ellroy novel too closely for there to be any coincidence. As the stylised murders continue, Verhoeven traces the crimes' literary inspirations, and risks his superiors' ire by taking out adverts to inform the killer of his progress. Before long, the case develops into a personal duel, with each man hell-bent on outsmarting his opponent. There can only be one winner whoever has the least to lose ... THE NOVELIST KILLS BY THE BOOK For Commandant Camille Verhœven life is beautiful. He is happily married and soon to become a father. HE'S ALWAYS ONE CHAPTER AHEAD But his blissful existence is punctured by a murder of unprecedented savagery. When his team discovers that the killer has form - and each murder is a homage to a classic crime novel - the Parisian press are quick to coin a nickname . . . The Novelist. HE HATES HAPPY ENDINGS With the public eye fixed on both hunter and hunted, the case develops into a personal duel, each hell-bent on outsmarting the other. There can only be one winner. The one who has the least to lose. For Commandant Verhven life is beautiful: he is happily married, expecting his first child with the lovely Irne. But his blissful existence is punctured by a murder of unprecedented savagery. Worse still, the press seem to have it in for him his every move is headline news. When he discovers that the killer has killed before that each murder is a homage to a classic crime novel the fourth estate are quick to coin a nickname The Novelist With both men in the public eye, the case develops into a personal duel, each hell-bent on outsmarting the other. There can only be one winner whoever has the least to lose