The Orsay Murder Club

Welcome to the Orsay, a former train station turned into a sumptuous museum. It is from here that Christos Markogiannakis invites you to embark on a very special journey–;a journey through history and mythology, crossing paths with mass murderers, stalkers, cursed families, cannibals and serial killers. Murder is present on every floor, in every corner, exposing itself through numerous masterpieces as a gruesome form of art! Applying the principles of criminology and art history, The Orsay Murder Club investigates and interprets a choice of some 30 works of art through a "criminartistic' lens. Created by prestigious artists such as Moreau, Cézanne, Carpeaux and Rodin, they all have a thing in common: they represent murder. Each work will be treated as a crime scene and will lead to a fascinating investigation inspired by the principles of legal and forensic experts. Into what category does the murder fall? What are the factual and historical issues? Who are the victims? What portrait can be drawn of the perpetrator(s)? What is their profile, their background, their motive? Reaching our final destination–;the truth–;will depend on the often unexpected answers found for these questions.

The Louvre Murder Club investigates and interprets a choice of some thirty artworks by applying the principles of criminology and art history for a unique "criminartistic" analysis. All come from very different styles and periods. But all – from ancient Greek amphorae to nineteenth-century French paintings, from canvases by Rubens to those by Delacroix, David or Ingres – have one thing in common : they depict mythological or historical murders, their protagonists and their stories. Each work will be treated as a crime scene and will lead to a fascinating investigation inspired by the principles of legal and forensic teams. Into what category does the murder fall ? What are the factual and historical issues ? Who are the victims ? What portrait can be drawn of the guilty ? What is their profile, their background, their motive ? Bringing the truth to light will depend on the unexpected answers given to these questions.

A portrait based on research into thousands of previously unavailable documents offers an alternative view of the prestigious author that depicts him as a contradictory man who embodied both upstanding and cruel tendencies, covering such topics as his dysfunctional parents, his extramarital affair, and his fanatical pursuit of scientific data. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Early on the morning of May 6, 1840, the elderly Lord William Russell was found in his London house with his throat so deeply cut that his head was nearly severed. The crime soon had everyone, including Queen Victoria, feverishly speculating about motives and methods. But when the prime suspect claimed to have been inspired by a sensational crime novel, it sent shock waves through literary London and drew both Dickens and Thackeray into the fray. Could a novel really lead someone to kill? In Murder by the Book, Claire Harman blends a riveting true-crime whodunit with a fascinating account of the rise of the popular novel and the early battle for its soul among the most famous writers of the day.

The 4th Duke of Morland has a reputation as the dashing 'Duke of Midnight'. Each evening the handsome bachelor selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the ladies catch his interest, until Lady Amelia d'Orsay tries her luck.

A dying woman has secret about the unsolved murder of Parisian P.I. Aimée Leduc’s father, but is kidnapped before she can reveal it Paris, April 1999: Aimée Leduc has her work cut out for her—running her detective agency and fighting off sleep deprivation as she tries to be a good single mother to her new bébé. The last thing she has time for now is to take on a personal investigation for a poor manouche (Gypsy) boy. But he insists his dying mother has an important secret she needs to tell Aimée, something to do with Aimée’s father’s unsolved murder a decade ago. How can she say no? The dying woman’s secret is even more dangerous than her son realized. When Aimée arrives at the hospital, the boy’s mother has disappeared. She was far too sick to leave on her own—she must have been abducted. What does she know that’s so important it’s worth killing for? And will Aimée be able to find her before it’s too late and the medication keeping her alive runs out?