A âdeliciousâ historical mystery featuring a Paris detective and master of disguise by the author of The Pale Blue Eye (Entertainment Weekly). Chief of a newly created plainclothes police force, Vidocq is a man whose name sends terror rippling through the Parisian underworld of 1818âand the inconsequential life of Hector Carpentier is violently shaken when Vidocq storms into it. A former medical student living in his motherâs Latin Quarter boardinghouse, Hector finds himself dragged into a dangerous mystery surrounding the fate of the dauphin, the ten-year-old son of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette presumed to have suffered a cruel death years earlier in Parisâs dreaded Temple. But the truth of what happened may be even more shockingâand it will fall to an aimless young man and the most feared detective in Paris to see justice done for a frightened little boy in a black tower . . . no matter what the cost. Inspired by the colorful real-life detective who became legendary in his native France, The Black Tower showcases âall the narrative verve and sly witâboth plot twists and turns of phraseâthat make [Bayardâs] books such a pleasure to readâ (The Washington Post). âBayard reinvigorates historical fiction, rendering the nineteenth century as if heâd witnessed it firsthand.â âThe New York Times Book Review âA writer of historical thrillers in the vein of Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist, and nineteenth-century writers such as Alexandre Dumas, author of The Count of Monte Cristo.â âThe Wall Street Journal âStellar . . . Few writers today can match the authorâs skill in devising an intelligent thriller with heart.â âPublishers Weekly (starred review)
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