A classic mystery set in the shadowy back alleys and opulent homes of Paris, starring hard-nosed police inspector Paul Mazarelle, of The Paris Directive, out to solve the murder of a fellow private eye.
A murdered man is discovered hanging in the tunnels of a Paris canal. The corpse belongs to Alain Berthaud, a private investigator based at the other end of the city. Berthaud's partner was formerly a member of the Commissariat Central of the Fourth Arrondissement, Inspector Paul Mazarelle's old station. When examined, Berthaud's body reveals that he was murdered elsewhere. His wallet is full of money and his ID is still in his pockets, along with the tarot card, The Hanged Man. Who murdered him, and why?
Meanwhile, Claire Girard, an ambitious journalist and deputy editor at a popular tabloid, is at work on an article about a Formula One Racer. Her powerful husband's money often "uncovers" information for Claire's splashy stories. Among her chief sources are a few cops from the Fourth Arrondissement commissariat.
Mazarelle--recently promoted and enjoying his new position--believes he's free and clear of his old colleagues and their sordid side business at last. But the puzzler of the hanged man defies simple solution, even after the case is supposedly closed. When his investigation collides with Girard's latest scoop and the body count keeps rising, Mazarelle realizes that leaving the past behind him won't be nearly as easy as he imagined. GERALD JAY is a nom de plume. He is the author of one previous Mazarelle novel, The Paris Directive. He lives in New York City.
