The Black Tower

The Black Tower by Louis Bayard.

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (August 26, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0061173509

 

Book Description:

Vidocq! Master of disguise and chief of a newly created plainclothes police force, Vidocq is a man whose name sends terror rippling through the Parisian underworld of 1818—and the inconsequential life of Hector Carpentier is violently shaken when Vidocq storms into it. A former medical student living in his mother's Latin Quarter boardinghouse, Hector finds himself dragged into a dangerous mystery surrounding the fate of the dauphin, the ten-year-old son of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette presumed to have suffered a cruel death years earlier in Paris's dreaded Temple. But the truth of what happened may be even more shocking—and it will fall to an aimless young man and the most feared detective in Paris to see justice done for a frightened little boy in a black tower . . . no matter what the cost.

This is my 3rd book by Louis Bayard.  And I have enjoyed all three of them!  A lot of historical History has gone into his books: The Tower, The Pale Blue Eye and Mr. Timothy.

This one begins with a murder.  In the dead man's hand is a note that simply states a name, Dr. Carpentier.  It turns out Dr Carpentier does not know this murdered man, but subsequently is dragged along by the detective, Vidocq, while he continues to track down the murderer.

Bayard takes us back to the time of King Louis XVI, and asks what happened to the apparent heir to the throne.   Supposedly he was held in a tower until his death.  Or was he?  How was Carpentier involved in this?  Was the boy dead or alive?  And how could they tell if what they suspect is true or not?

Toss in another murder or two, question who you trust or don't trust and Bayard has given us yet another very good historical fiction book to read!

I know I don't write much of a review, I leave that to the reviews from Amazon, but what I can say is that it was an easy read, and an interesting read.  It kept me picking it up each time I sat down and to me... that's an enjoyable read!