The 7th Woman

May 1, 2014
This entry in Molay's Paris Homicide series won France's prestigious crime-fiction award, the Prix du Quai des Orf'vres. Its hero is Nico Sirsky, head of the Paris Criminal Investigation Division, known as La Brigade Criminelle, or La Crim'. Sirsky is an endearing mixture of tortured, hardheaded cop and romantic; he falls instantly in love with an internist he visits for a suspected ulcer, valiantly flirting throughout his examination. Sirsky, the forensics team, and a seemingly ever-present criminal profiler confront the grisly murder of a young, pregnant assistant history professor at the Sorbonne, killed in her home during the day. This is followed by more murders of thirtysomething, upscale women, all of whom opened their doors to the killer, who has an agenda: he left a note at one of the early crime scenes, announcing his intention to kill seven women in seven days. He also tightens the noose around Sirsky's neck, threatening and stalking those closest to him. Molay uses meticulous police procedure and forensics to bolster gripping scenes of terror. Let's hope more installments from this series cross the ocean soon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)