Brigade Criminelle is mobilised when a fatal stabbing, an anticipated delivery of lethal drugs from Marseilles, and the discovery of a thirty-year-old corpse in an ancient turreted tower in the town of Puyceldome coincide with a frantic search for two murderous hitchhikers - all on Chief Inspector Pel's patch. As folk-dancers, stilt-walkers, fire-eaters, and jugglers lurch through a night of carnival, Pel stalks his prey. 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 Désiré 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