The Paris Enigma A Novel
The Paris Enigma by Pablo De Santis is a novel published by Harper Collins on November 11, 2008, featuring 244 pages in English. Set against the backdrop of the 1889 Paris World’s Fair, the story revolves around a gathering of the world’s most renowned detectives, known as The Twelve, who convene to discuss their craft. However, the absence of the legendary Renato Craig leads his novice assistant, Sigmundo Salvatrio, to Paris with a secret message, setting the stage for a gripping tale of murder and intrigue.
As the fair unfolds, a member of The Twelve is found dead near the Eiffel Tower, igniting a series of grisly murders that thrust Salvatrio and the competitive Viktor Arzaky into a race against time. The narrative explores themes of crime, mystery, and the philosophical underpinnings of detective work, all while immersing readers in the vibrant city life of fin de siècle Paris. The Paris Enigma presents a unique perspective on the early days of crime solving, where intellect and intuition are paramount in the pursuit of justice.
Official synopsis Publisher
In the tradition of Caleb Carr’s The Alienist and Eric Larsen’s The Devil in the White City comes a gripping tale of murder and the art of crime solving, atmospherically set during the 1889 Paris World’s Fair.
It is 1889, and the entire world breathlessly anticipates the Paris World’s Fair and the opening of Monsieur Eiffel’s iconic tower. The Twelve Detectives—a society of the twelve most famous, compelling, and dazzling detectives from around the world—have been asked to discuss the secrets of their trade as part of the fair’s lineup of events. The Twelve travel to Paris to convene as a single body for the first time, but also, if some whispers are to be believed, to debate the very philosophy that underlies their pursuit of the world’s most wanted criminals.
But one detective is conspicuously absent: the legendary founding member of The Twelve, Renato Craig, will not attend. In his place he sends his novice assistant, Sigmundo Salvatrio—son of a shoemaker, a lifelong detective-arts devotee, and the only remaining student of Craig’s famed Academy for Detectives in Buenos Aires. Salvatrio arrives in Paris, carrying a secret message meant only for Craig’s best friend and cofounder of The Twelve, the brilliant, brooding, and fiercely competitive Viktor Arzaky.
When a member of The Twelve is discovered dead at the foot of the gleaming Eiffel Tower, the first in what turns into a series of grisly murders, Arzaky and Salvatrio find themselves in a race against time around glorious fin de siècle Paris, encountering all manner of secret societies, solving philosophical puzzles, while also trying to save a dangerously beautiful woman.
The pair soon realizes that the stakes involved are unimaginably high; they must not only catch the stalking murderer but also alter the fate of their precious brotherhood.
Written in a strikingly original voice, and poignantly evoking a world about to lose its innocence forever, The Paris Enigma opens a window onto crime solving’s early days, when wit, common sense, and intelligence were the only tools a detective could rely on.
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