Pel And The Prowler

Life is going well for the usually irascible Chief Inspector Pel: he is basking in the warm glow of married life, and his bullying housekeeper Madame Routy is no longer tormenting him with deafening television shows and terrible cooking. But police work never stops, and Pel soon finds himself investigating the deaths of a series of young women, who have been strangled and left with macabre messages next to them. Pel’s investigations lead him to the city’s student community, and into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries. Praise for the Inspector Pel Mystery series: ‘Totally convincing.’ Financial Times ‘Mr Hebden has created a nice band of flics.’ Oxford Times ‘Pel and his procedurals are some of the best things since Maigret.’ Observer ‘Chief Inspector Evariste Clovis Désiré Pel, as well rounded a character as Maigret or Van der Valk.’ Punch ‘Impeccable French ambience, unexaggerated flics, and a well-constructed solution. Hebden proves again that few understand Gallic cops better than English writers!’ The Times ‘Some characters grow as their saga lengthens and Pel... is one of them. You might say he is ripening along with the grapes.’ Police Review ‘...written with downbeat humour and some delightful dialogue.’ Financial Times ‘...all is most cunningly contrived and dovetailed into a coherent plot.’ Irish Times ‘A thoroughly entertaining read.’ Evening Standard ‘The best Gallic sleuth since Maigret.’ London Mystery Selection

A dead man is found floating in a canal, his wallet revealing a strange symbolic drawing, and a hostage drama unfolds at the Banque Credit Rural. On the other side of town, a stunning art student switches masterpieces for copies. Somehow, the crimes fit together and Chief Inspector Pel has to respond with true Gallic guile.

This is a story of Pel’s beloved Burgundy as the Promised Land. Fires are breaking out in small houses and woodland and when a local farmer’s flock of sheep is poisoned, a tray of valuable rings are stolen, and the body of a woman is found, Inspector Pel has his work cut out in this exhilarating murder mystery.

When Chief Inspector Pel accepts a drinks invitation, he doesn’t realise how compromised he will become by his acceptance. Shortly afterwards, his host is kidnapped; a partially decomposed body of a soldier is discovered and a series of art forgeries demand attention. Pel must tie all together and solve a scandal which is the talk of France.

A guide to series fiction lists popular series, identifies novels by character, and offers guidance on the order in which to read unnumbered series.

Deep in the Burgundy countryside, a murder case is perplexing Inspector Pel. The body was found in the salon, an elegant room with a grand piano and a Louis XIV escritoire. The shutters were still closed and the dead end of a record of Rigoletto was still turning. There are some obvious suspects, yet the clothes of none of them show any signs of blood. And what were the tensions that must have torn at this family? It’s only when a second murder takes place that the method of the first becomes startlingly clear. Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Evariste Clovis Désiré Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries. Praise for the Inspector Pel Mystery series: ‘Totally convincing.’ Financial Times ‘Mr Hebden has created a nice band of flics.’ Oxford Times ‘Pel and his procedurals are some of the best things since Maigret.’ Observer ‘Chief Inspector Evariste Clovis Désiré Pel, as well rounded a character as Maigret or Van der Valk.’ Punch ‘Impeccable French ambience, unexaggerated flics, and a well-constructed solution. Hebden proves again that few understand Gallic cops better than English writers!’ The Times ‘Some characters grow as their saga lengthens and Pel... is one of them. You might say he is ripening along with the grapes.’ Police Review ‘...written with downbeat humour and some delightful dialogue.’ Financial Times ‘...all is most cunningly contrived and dovetailed into a coherent plot.’ Irish Times ‘A thoroughly entertaining read.’ Evening Standard ‘The best Gallic sleuth since Maigret.’ London Mystery Selection

A reference and overview of the genre of crime fiction, primarily covering the 1950s onwards, although major earlier writers, such as Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler, also have entries.