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. Pels investigations lead him to the citys 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 Dsir 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