A skeleton, almost 3o years buried, is excavated from La Villette Park and the surrounding museum complex as an art project is undergoing an archeological dig. When the body is found to be that of the son of the artist, the homicide unit goes to work to discover who murdered him and why. When two more bodies of young male homosexuals turn up, the case takes an interesting focus. While I had predicted the outcome, I hadn't actually chosen the perpetrator as Molay puts some red herrings in as usual.
Although the books are very fast-paced and I read them quickly, I've become bored with Nico and the other characters because they are just too flat and stereotypical. There's no tension in the ranks, and Nico's romance with Caroline is nearly nausea-inducing as is his family life. Perhaps it is because these are French police procedurals and the system works differently there, but the way they all handle the investigation is so out of the norm for this genre (a Police Chief going to a gay bar and dancing with a patron to get information?). The best part of these 3 books for me has been the descriptions of Paris, the city, and surround. I like the details about the streets, sites, food, customs -- but not enough to get attached to the characters as there just is no drama. It may be that I like more introspective, less perfect, protagonists who aren't always thinking of rushing home to bed their lovers and we don't just read about how they are so smart and clever, but who relate a bit of their thinking process as they mull a particular case.
I probably won't read another in this series, but then again, it will likely be awhile before a new book comes out, so who knows.
Thank you to Edelweiss for an ARC of this book.
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