I don't know if a book less than twenty years old can rightly be called a classic but this is certainly a reissue of a book that originally came out in 2001 -- one that has the gritty appeal of a 1950s hardboiled detective mystery with some twists that I haven't read before (though I expect they may be more common that I believe): the detective in this case is a female, a widow to be exact, and it's set in Paris.In this book, Episode One (of three), Edith Hardy takes on the case of of a parfumier who has lost his lead scientist. Along the way, her young assistant Vittorio, now in France known as Victor, is caught up in a round of socialist workers. There's a run-in with the KGB, a prescient dream, and.. just a lot going on. Very French.
If you like the Inspector Maigret mysteries, this may trip your trigger.
Three stars
This book came out September 18th
ARC kindly provided by Europe Comics and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
