Product Description
Paris, 1796. Aristide Ravel, freelance undercover police agent and investigator, is confronted with a double murder in a fashionable apartment. The victims are Célie Montereau, the daughter of a wealthy and influential family, and the man who was blackmailing her.
A friend of Célie's, Rosalie Clément, an enigmatic, bitter young woman, provides Aristide with intelligence that steers him toward a young man, Philippe Aubry. Aubry has a violent past and was in love with Célie, but further inquiry reveals that--according to an eyewitness--he cannot have been her murderer.
As time passes, Aristide finds himself reluctantly falling in love with Rosalie, although he suspects that she knows more about the murders than she will say. From the gritty back alleys of Paris to its glittering salons and cafés, through the heart of the feverish, decadent society of postrevolutionary France, Aristide’s investigation leads him into a puzzle involving hidden secrets, crimes of passion, and long-nurtured hatreds.
From the reviewers:
Alleyn returns to postrevolutionary Paris in her second novel, a taut police procedural. ... Full of authentic historical detail, ranging from the rise of General Bonaparte to the antics of flamboyant incroyables, the story builds to an emotionally charged climax....
--Publishers Weekly
The Paris of 1796 comes alive in Alleyn’s fast-paced novel. Readers will be surprised by the ending, with its twisted scenario of rape and revenge.
--The Historical Novels Review
To take the measure of Alleyn’s writing, one would have to go past today’s fine mystery writers and reach back to three great whodunit writers of the first half of the 20th century--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton and Agatha Christie. ... The novel is riveting along its circuitous route and startling denouement. It goes forward, backward, sideward and nearly upside down in its intense cliffhanger brilliance. ... Aristide Ravel, the undercover police agent, is the kind of charismatic, intensely human detective that is central to all good mystery writing. So good indeed, that one wishes for a series of Ravel novels from Alleyn’s pen.
--Register Star/Hudson Valley Newspapers
... Grounded by a complex, haunted hero, the suspense in this layered mystery builds slowly but reaches a breakneck speed.
--Booklist
... This is a true puzzle mystery, with the detective reexamining the facts several times until the solution is found. Alleyn knows her French Revolution, creates a complex brain-teaser of a mystery, and excels in making her characters believable. In short, this book has everything; recommended.
--Library Journal
Other praise:
"Susanne Alleyn's Game of Patience is a well-crafted historical mystery, authentic in every detail. Wonderfully entertaining."
--Sandra Gulland, author, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
"An engrossing, richly detailed whodunit set in edgy, post-revolutionary Paris . . . I was riveted."
--Karen Harper, author, The Fatal Fashione and The Last Boleyn
"Post-revolutionary Paris is the setting for this sophisticated and stylish novel, a true mystery, penned by American author Susanne Alleyn, who creates the atmosphere of those pre-Napoleonic days that challenges the skills of Caleb Carr of The Alienist fame."
--Big Sleep Books
"This book satisfies on many levels."
--The Poisoned Pen Bookstore (April 2006 History/Mystery pick)
A friend of Célie's, Rosalie Clément, an enigmatic, bitter young woman, provides Aristide with intelligence that steers him toward a young man, Philippe Aubry. Aubry has a violent past and was in love with Célie, but further inquiry reveals that--according to an eyewitness--he cannot have been her murderer.
As time passes, Aristide finds himself reluctantly falling in love with Rosalie, although he suspects that she knows more about the murders than she will say. From the gritty back alleys of Paris to its glittering salons and cafés, through the heart of the feverish, decadent society of postrevolutionary France, Aristide’s investigation leads him into a puzzle involving hidden secrets, crimes of passion, and long-nurtured hatreds.
From the reviewers:
Alleyn returns to postrevolutionary Paris in her second novel, a taut police procedural. ... Full of authentic historical detail, ranging from the rise of General Bonaparte to the antics of flamboyant incroyables, the story builds to an emotionally charged climax....
--Publishers Weekly
The Paris of 1796 comes alive in Alleyn’s fast-paced novel. Readers will be surprised by the ending, with its twisted scenario of rape and revenge.
--The Historical Novels Review
To take the measure of Alleyn’s writing, one would have to go past today’s fine mystery writers and reach back to three great whodunit writers of the first half of the 20th century--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton and Agatha Christie. ... The novel is riveting along its circuitous route and startling denouement. It goes forward, backward, sideward and nearly upside down in its intense cliffhanger brilliance. ... Aristide Ravel, the undercover police agent, is the kind of charismatic, intensely human detective that is central to all good mystery writing. So good indeed, that one wishes for a series of Ravel novels from Alleyn’s pen.
--Register Star/Hudson Valley Newspapers
... Grounded by a complex, haunted hero, the suspense in this layered mystery builds slowly but reaches a breakneck speed.
--Booklist
... This is a true puzzle mystery, with the detective reexamining the facts several times until the solution is found. Alleyn knows her French Revolution, creates a complex brain-teaser of a mystery, and excels in making her characters believable. In short, this book has everything; recommended.
--Library Journal
Other praise:
"Susanne Alleyn's Game of Patience is a well-crafted historical mystery, authentic in every detail. Wonderfully entertaining."
--Sandra Gulland, author, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
"An engrossing, richly detailed whodunit set in edgy, post-revolutionary Paris . . . I was riveted."
--Karen Harper, author, The Fatal Fashione and The Last Boleyn
"Post-revolutionary Paris is the setting for this sophisticated and stylish novel, a true mystery, penned by American author Susanne Alleyn, who creates the atmosphere of those pre-Napoleonic days that challenges the skills of Caleb Carr of The Alienist fame."
--Big Sleep Books
"This book satisfies on many levels."
--The Poisoned Pen Bookstore (April 2006 History/Mystery pick)
