The Devil in Montmartre: A Mystery in Fin de Siècle Paris

Has Jack the Ripper crossed the Channel? Insp. Achille Lefebvre, “a fervent advocate for scientific methods of detection,” tries to find out in this uneven mystery from Inbinder (Confessions of the Creature). Early in the morning of October 15, 1889, two Paris night soil collectors fish a female torso out of a Montmartre cesspool. The victim is later identified as a can-can dancer at the Moulin Rouge who disappeared a few days earlier. The savagery of the killing raises fears that the Ripper has resumed his slaughter of women and increases the pressure on Lefebvre. The autopsy reveals the dancer had undergone a recent procedure that casts suspicion on an eminent surgeon, while a small shoe print at the scene of the body’s discovery may be that of artist Toulouse-Lautrec, who lives in Montmartre. Plenty of precise period detail helps drive the plot toward a resolution that will disappoint even readers who have been engaged until then. [em]Agent: Lukas Ortiz, Philip Spitzer Agency. (Dec.) [/em]