Death of a Critic: An Alex Grismolet Mystery - Hardcover

Fuller, Dean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316296015 ISBN 13: 9780316296014

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1996

Synopsis

Towering red-headed detective and tuba player Alex Grismolet and his assistant, Varnas, size up the possible assassins of Paris' most widely read, and most detested, theater critic

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Moments after his late arrival for the premiere of Eurydice, theatrical critic Virgile de la Pagerie (``Delap'' to his enemies, who are legion) collapses and dies of cyanide poisoning. Which of his foes preempted his final review, and how did they manage to poison him when he was surrounded by hundreds of people--including his companion for the evening, Chef-Inspecteur Alex Grismolet's former ward, Philippa Watten? The ensuing investigation is notable for its leisurely pace, its unblushing Francophilia, and its shoal of red herrings--including the international terrorists who phone to claim responsibility for executing ``Virgile Philadelphie, the mulatto mongrel of Martinique''; the wartime collaborator who signed the deportation order sending the father of Delap's stepfather to his death; the accomplished actress who can't be a suspect in her ex-fianc‚'s murder only because she died first; the Blessed Virgin's apparition to a little girl; and enough romantic triangles for a sequel to Euclid. Fans of Grismolet and his entourage (A Death in Paris, 1992) will be happy to know that his partner, Inspecteur Alphonsas Varnas, finds true love, and that Philippa's debut with London's Royal Ballet is a smashing success. Delap's murder gets solved, too. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly

Flowing prose and a drop-dead beginning can't fully redeem the muddled development of the latest case for Paris's Chief Inspector Alex Grismolet, seen last in A Death in Paris. The City of Lights' most influential and reviled theater critic, Virgile de la Pagerie, collapses and dies a few minutes after the curtain goes up on a new production of Jean Anouilh's Eurydice. The situation turns sticky when Grismolet learns that his ward, Philippa, a beautiful 21-year-old ballerina, was the dead man's date for the evening. In a case where nearly everyone who knew the victim had reason to wish him dead, Grismolet must weed out suspects. He's also left with one of the critic's last columns, which denounces the neo-Nazi movement in France?an odd subject for a theater critic. Grismolet's search takes him to some charming provinces, including Langue d'Oc, where a young girl has seen visions of the Virgin. The plot, however, never heats up, despite its religious and political content, and the bizarre resolution demands a great act of faith from readers, who may be unsettled by the ambiguous relationship between Philippa and her 37-year-old guardian.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0316296015
• ISBN 13: 9780316296014
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 298