Why would anyone strangle a humble seamstress with no known enemies? Newly-married bookseller Victor Legris is initially baffled by the murder of seemingly-unremarkable Louise Fontaine, in the abattoir district of La Villette. But as the investigation progresses, Victor, along with his assistant and brother-in-law Joseph, discovers that in belle-époque Paris young girls with no money or background are as ruthlessly preyed on as ever...

"A charming journey through the life and intellectual times of an era"" - Le Monde

"Claude Izner... brilliantly evokes 1890s Paris... in a cracking, highly satisfying yarn" - Guardian