I should start this by saying that I picked this up because the title made me think of a Hercule Poirot or Armand Gamache type protagonist. What I got instead was a young mix between Poirot and Jacques Clouseau, leaning towards the latter. This book, though interesting at times, was a little disappointing. It feels like the authors googled what the French stereotype was and, apart from the baguettes and berets, incorporated everything else into our protagonist. Detective Luc Moncrief is apparently good looking, rich, has a disdain for following normal procedure as opposed to his gut feelings, and of course, is a connoisseur for the finer things in life.

The book contains three novellas detailing his work for the NYPD. While the cases started off interesting the plot leaves little for the reader to piece together the results. The culprit is always someone that only Luc Moncrief knows or something tied to his past that is eventually revealed. There is also the underlying, and sometimes in your face, sexual tension between the protagonist and his NYPD partner that at times detracts from the situation.

Overall, this is just a one time read. Very forgettable character and the stories even more so. I don’t think I’d recommend this to anyone unless they really have nothing else to pick up.

Rating: 3/5

P.S. In actuality I would have given this a 2/5 but considering there were a few interesting moments within the book, and not to mention I didn’t hate the book on finishing it, which made me give it a 3/5.

P.P.S. I also feel that I may have been a little harsh in my review of this book but until I read it again I won’t really know. At this point that’s unlikely to happen so let’s see.

Links:

1. Goodreads: The Paris Detective – James Patterson