The Sorbonne Affair

June 26, 2017
Pryor’s entertaining seventh Hugo Marston novel finds the cultured head of security at the American embassy in Paris and former FBI profiler attending the funeral of actress Isabel Severin, a key player in 2016’s The Paris Librarian. After the service, Hugo is approached by bestselling American romance author Helen Hancock, who informs him that she suspects she’s being stalked. He’s not inclined to take her claim seriously—until Helen finds a spy cam in her hotel room. When hotel employee Andrew Baxter is stabbed to death in a stairwell in the hotel, the case takes an ominous turn, especially after Hugo discovers that it was Andrew who planted the camera in Helen’s room. The mystery deepens when one of Helen’s writing students is murdered and Hugo is attacked outside his own apartment. A fascinating cast, an intriguing subplot that delves into Hugo’s past, and a gorgeous Parisian setting add to the story’s appeal. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency.

September 1, 2017

After checking into the Sorbonne Hotel in Paris, author Helen Hancock discovers a spy camera in her room and contacts Hugo Marston at the U.S. embassy to investigate. The hotel employee responsible for bugging Hancock is murdered and a spicy sex tape featuring Hancock and a student hits the Internet. More bodies pile up as Hugo and Lt. Camille Lerens sort through the suspects. Another enjoyable read featuring the likeable Marston (The Paris Librarian).--ACT

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
In the seventh Hugo Marston mystery (after The Paris Librarian, 2016), the Paris embassy's Holemesian head of security unmasks a calculating killer while facing fallout resurfacing from his FBI days. Hugo senses melodrama when celebrity romance novelist Helen Hancock approaches him with fears that she's being stalked, but Hancock's fears are confirmed when she finds a camera hidden in her hotel room. Hoping to protect Hancock's privacy, Hugo reaches out to his favorite crime-solving partner at the Prefecture, Lieutenant Camille Lerens. Unfortunately, a killer finds the stalker before they do: videos from Hancock's room are discovered on a murdered hotel employee's laptop. As Hugo and Camille work on uncovering Hancock's connection to the murder, more killings follow, and Hugo is forced to question the obvious scenario that the killings are a stalker's revenge. The flawlessly constructed whodunit sharply contrasts with the gritty flashbacks to Hugo's past, a subplot that rewards series fans with a new layer of depth to the central characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)