Blood of Lorraine

Starred review from May 17, 2010
Pope improves on her 2008 debut, Cézanne's Quarry, which also featured magistrate Bernard Martin, in this fascinating look at the rise of anti-Semitism in France after the arrest of Capt. Alfred Dreyfus for treason in 1894. Now transferred to Nancy, the capital of Alsace, Martin doesn't relish investigating a politically sensitive case—the murder of seven-month-old Marc-Antoine Thomas, whose parents claim that a Jew killed and mutilated their son—that Martin's Jewish colleague, David Singer, insists that Martin take over. When a prominent member of the Jewish community, Victor Ullmann, is later bludgeoned to death, the magistrate fears that it was a revenge killing. Martin must also deal with a devastating personal tragedy as pressure to solve the Ullmann case mounts. Pope, a historian, more than compensates for a not fully satisfying ending with a complex lead and the skill with which she makes the anti-Semitic atmosphere of the times both palpable and tragically prophetic.

June 1, 2010

Anti-Semitism further clouds an already overheated murder case.

In the province of Lorraine, young judge Bernard Martin reluctantly agrees to take over a case assigned to his colleague David Singer. An unidentified Jew stands accused of killing and mutilating a Christian baby. The controversial Dreyfus case has brought virulent anti-Semitism to the forefront in 1894 France. Having only recently moved from Provence to Nancy with his pregnant wife Clarie, Martin is loath to seem uncooperative so early in his tenure. He uses all his courtroom skills in questioning Geneviève Philipon, wet nurse of the murdered child Marc-Antoine, and quickly gets her to recant her implausible story and confess her involvement as an accomplice. She admits that, while he was unattended, the curious baby swallowed a coal. His parents, Pierre and Antoinette Thomas, mutilated the baby and made his death look like a ritual murder. When Martin brings the couple in, they staunchly protest their innocence, and public outrage against the judiciary intensifies. But Martin stands firm in his conviction of their guilt. Shortly after the conditional release of Pierre and Antoinette, Victor Ullmann, the Jewish owner of the mill where Pierre works, is found murdered, and suspicion falls squarely upon Pierre, who seems to have vanished.

Bernard's second case (Cézanne's Quarry, 2008) gracefully transports the reader to its liveried era and broadens the story's appeal with characters of substance and depth.

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July 1, 2010
Racism. Fear. Ignorance. A dead infant. Pope's ("Cézanne's Quarry" second Bernard Martin mystery opens with the judge living in Lorraine, France, with his pregnant wife. It is November 1894, and word spreads like wildfire that Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, the first Jewish army officer in the French General Staff, is being tried for treason. He stands accused of passing military secrets to the Germans. As anti-Semitism threatens to rip the fabric of France apart, an infant boy is found brutally butchered. The wet nurse and mother claim a "wandering Jew" murdered him. As outrage spreads, two prominent French Jews are found murdered. Martin must ferret out the truth from the lies, delving deep into the hearts and minds of his fellow Republicans, as well as his own, to see where the true traitors are hiding. VERDICTPope landscapes her canvas with compelling characters, especially Martin as he struggles to serve justice while wrestling with his own inner demons. Recommended for historical mystery enthusiasts, especially those interested in French and Jewish history.—Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L., MD

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2010
Pope sets this history-mystery at that most explosive of times, France in 1894, just before the trial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus on suspicion of sharing French military secrets with the Germans. Her entry point for examining the anti-Semitism of the time is one murder case and one magistrate in the town of Nancy, long a haven for French Jews. The case involves a murdered, mutilated baby. The mother and wet nurse insist that a wandering Jew murdered the infant as part of a ritual sacrifice.The magistrate is Bernard Martin, a most sympathetic character, totally devoted to the ideals of fraternity and equality. The case was first brought to a Jewish colleague of Martins, who believes it represents a trap. Action and tension escalate from there. Besides being an engrossing mystery, this is an excellent examination of how prejudice seeps into every area of life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)