September 13, 2022
Book Review
Die Around Sundown
Mark Pryor
reviewed by Lou Jacobs

readersremains.com | Goodreads

An atmospheric police procedural that catapults into a historical fiction mystery with clues chased down in the shadowy streets of Paris filled with jackbooted Nazi bastards.
Meet Inspector Henri LeFort a righteous and highly scrupled cop with a dogged determination to wade through the morass of clues in spite of Nazi roadblocks and obstacles in his investigation to uncover truth and justice. The setting is 1940 occupied Paris with blood red banners festooned with black swastikas staining all important buildings. The Nazi minion have strolled into the city with the government easily capitulating.
Henri vividly recalls his experiences in the previous war, when he killed these Germans, and watched his friends perish, but in the end successfully pushing these Boches (“cabbage-heads”) back to the Rhineland. Now, he feels humiliated with the ease of France’s surrender, and feels like a “book-licker.” Food will soon be rationed. The yellow stars marking Jews are imminent. The sardonic humored Henri is called to the site of a robbery, only to find out that three murders have also occurred. The house is that of Princess Marie Bonaparte, the great grand-niece of Napoleon. She has wealth, power, and influence and yet the Nazi’s were requisitioning her home. She had sent three servants to pack up her belongings, but they had not returned. She returned to investigate and found two shot in the chest and one in the back. Her jewelry was missing and yet three strange suitcases sat idly on the floor. Henri quickly deduced that one of the robbers was still present and in hiding. A shoot out ensued, leaving one of homicide detectives dead, with the hidden robber dispatched personally by Henri. Soon her home was flooded with a horde of French police and German soldiers. Princess Marie wanted Henri to join the investigation even though he was assigned to robbery and not the homicide division.
Princess Marie ( “call me Mimi” ) took a shine to Henri, and not only wanted him to stay on the murder investigation, but after a short and direct conversation found him to be “a glib sort of man” and quickly discovered she would love to further their relationship. She was a psychoanalyst, a student and friend of Freud, and was working on “aspect association” She theorized that matching certain aspects of the crime scene with those of a person’s personality would shed light on the type of criminal committing the crime (obviously the forerunner of “criminal profiling”). She felt working with Henri would foster further insights into her theories.
The following day of the robbery / murder Henri was called into the office of Chief Louis Proulx, the head of the murder division. Along with the chief were two German officers, Sturmbannfuhrer Herman Jung and Ludwig Vogel. They were impressed with his work and were tasking him to solve the murder of a German officer, Hauptmann Walter Fischer. He was stabbed to death through the ear with an ice pick at the Louvre. The museum was actually closed, and Fischer was cataloguing items in the gallery. He was tasked with deciding which of the notable pieces of art were to be “repatriated” back to Germany and Italy ( read: stealing and confiscating these priceless paintings for themselves). He had one week to solve the murder, before Hitler next visited Paris, or else, suffer the dire consequences of displeasing the Reich. He also was not allowed to visit the crime scene—the Louvre was off limits to the French, including the police. During this brief meeting, Hernri asked and said some pointed remarks that displayed his sardonic wit, which the Germans did not find the least amusing. Henri was indeed walking a fine line that would not end pleasantly. He was given an envelope that contained a picture of the victim—no photo of the murder weapon—and a list of five names on a sheet titled “Witnesses / Suspects”, Henri later thought… “maybe I’m supposed to pick one and pin it on him.” In the course of interviewing and interrogating the five, it leads to the necessity of meeting with the famous Pablo Picasso, who was living in Paris and connected with the five. His introductory remark to Pablo … “We are investigating the murder of a German soldier.” Picasso’s retort: “ We’ve only managed to kill one?

Mark Pryor crafts an immersive and masterful narrative creating a riveting twisted string of multiple unexpected reveals that propel this page-turner. Henri will use his powers of observation and deductive reasoning to solve this case. Multiple flash back chapters delve into his World War I experiences, trauma and secrets that shape his present day problems and motivations. He admittedly will experience bouts of anger and depression and cannot tolerate repetitive sounds: a tapping pencil, a clicking pen, or even someone munching carrots. Vivid prose and evocative descriptions of Paris locales are wonderfully interwoven into this nuanced narrative. A multitude of clues, culprits and evidence amass as Inspector LeFort searches for truth and justice.
This novel will appeal to aficionados that reveled in the exploits and cases of Georges Simenon’s inspector Jules Maigret and Philip Kerr’s World War II exploits of Bernie Gunther.

Die Around Sundown by Mark Pryor follows French detective, Henri Lefort, in German-occupied Paris. He is witty and takes his job seriously. Well written, good character development, a nice twist at the end. I've read many WWII stories, this is a good representation of German-occupied Paris. Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 4 Stars

A bit outside my typical area of interest for Historical Mysteries, but I thought I’d try this anyway because I loved Pryor’s Hugo Marston series and I’m glad I did.

Pryor excels at setting, whether in the modern era or here in WWII Paris, and he get a lot of mileage out of incorporating the scene into the story.

The protagonist may be a bit of an acquired taste for some readers, but I found him likable and (mostly) enjoyed his humor. It took me a while to get into the military backstory. That type of thing is never of great interest to me, but Pryor did a compelling job of making it relatively compelling and providing meaningful content to the mystery that relates to our hero’s past.

I don’t know that I need this to be a series (I would probably prefer that Pryor focus on continuing the Hugo Marston series instead, but I enjoyed reading this.

Really enjoyed meeting the new character, Henri Lefort. Intriguing back story with a unusual twist. Mark Pryor successfully gives the feel for wartime Paris immediately after Nazi occupation, citizens trying to survive. Looking forward to more adventures featuring Henri.

Thank you, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for a gifted copy of this book. Here is my unbiased review: What a fun surprise! I really enjoyed this first installment in the Henri Lefort mystery series. I found Henri, the protagonist detective, to be funny, witty, and sarcastic. The peripheral characters were engaging as well. The time period was really fun and you got to meet notable names from the era, including Pablo Picasso. This book had a mystery plot as well as a personal subplot that gave it a lot more depth. You might enjoy this book if you appreciate historical fiction, multilingual communication, and a whodunnit theme.

I was looking forward to this one going into it, but felt that overall it was quite long and slow. I have trouble seeing the character in the time period that the book is set in, it felt like their language and mannerisms were more current than eighty years ago. I can see how this book, as the first in a new series, will pull in a number of readers, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

This book was an interesting take on WWII. I have never read a book that focuses on what life was like in occupied France during WWII. In this book we meet Henri Lefort, who is a police officer in Paris in 1940. The Germans have taken over the government and have installed their own officers in the police force. When a German officer, who worked at the Louvre Museum going through priceless artwork and artifacts to send back to Motherland, is found murdered, Henri is given a deadline of five days to solve the murder or risk his own life. Using the list of potential suspects provided to him by the German major heading the investigation, Henri reluctantly sets out to solve the murder of one of his enemies.

I really enjoyed how the author portrayed how the French people really resented the Germans during their occupation of France. The French people were bitterly resolved to their occupation, but they did not like the Germans and fought back in any way that they could. Henri loathes the Germans, but knows that going against them would lead to his arrest or death. Henri conducts his investigation as only he knows how, by seeking the truth at no matter what cost. With the help of his sister, friends and even Pablo Picasso, Henri is resolved to see this investigation through all the way to the end.

There were so many twists and turns in this book and not everything is as it appears to be. I literally gasped aloud at certain times in this book because of the surprises I did not see coming. I really enjoyed this book and the way it portrayed a different side of WWII in occupied France. I highly recommend this book for lovers of historical mystery set in WWII with a different take on things and can’t wait to see if there is more in store for this series in the future.

Overall Rating: 4 stars
Author: Mark Pryor

Series: N/A

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication Date: August 16, 2022

Pages: 321

Genre: Historical Mystery

Get It: Amazon

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.

Thanks so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Interesting story of a French Police detective living under the early days of German occupation during WW2. This is perspective I hadn’t read about before. There has a been a murder at the Louvre- while the Germans were busy looting what was left to send to the Fatherland ( the French had hidden most of it away before the Nazi’s arrival) -one of them was murdered. The French police force and the Germans have an uneasy truce. Our Detective Henri is charged by the SS to find the killer within a week or he will be executed. This story gives us a nice slice of life of what it was like to live through the early days of occupation, when Jews were allowed to run businesses, not yet require to wear a yellow star, and there was still food and good wine to be had.
There is a second smaller story- Henri meets and befriends Marie Bonaparte, the Grandniece of Napoleon. She is studying psychoanalysis, and want to help Henri with is compulsive anger at certain noises. Their relationship and the cause for it was frankly even more interesting than the murder.
Entertaining read. I had a bit of a hard time keeping track of the characters aka suspects to understand who was who, and the mystery of who did it was a bit of a let down.

I always cast my books as a movie and for this one I cast a 40 year old George Clooney- as Henri- he has the steadiness needed for a detective, but can just as easily use humor and charm to solve the case.

Really drawn in by the storytelling in this novel. I was already a fan of Mark Pryor's writing, but was excited by this foray into historical fiction. Of course, loved the twist, and found myself still thinking about Pryor's superb character development skills. Definitely recommend.

One of my favorite mystery genres is the historical mystery. When I had the chance to read Die Around Sundown I didn't hesitate. I wasn't disappointed. From the first page I was taken with the main character Henri Lefort. He is of an age, in 1940, to have served in WWI as a very young man and now suffers from PTSD. He's a detective in the Robbery division but has been trying to get into Homicide. He never imagined he'd get there the way he has. When he goes to investigate the burglary at a very upper crust home his life will never be the same.There are three dead bodies as well as missing items with suitcases at the ready for transporting the loot. There are several Homicide detectives on the scene who would be happy to kick him out the front door. In short order there is a shooting of one of the officers by one of the robbers and Henri dispatches him. That might have been the end but it's only the start of a new chapter in Henri's life.
The home belongs to Princess Marie Bonaparte, the great-grand-niece of Napoleon. They strike up a conversation while the Germans invade the house and he discovers that she was a student of Sigmund Freud and has her own practice. Henri will soon be her patient when she moves into the apartment below his as she helps him deal with his PTSD and his sound phobias. Two we witness very early - the sound of gum being chewed and the tapping of a pencil can make him snap. To Henri she will be called Mimi. He will need all the help he can get to survive the next five days. After seven days he might be dead. If he fails to solve the case he will be executed.
With art being looted from every corner of Europe as the German's fan out, a German officer is found dead in The Louvre. He was assigned to gather items for Hitler's great museum. Henri becomes a member of the Homicide division when he is tasked to solve the crime. Bur oh what a catch there is - the killer must be revealed within one week or less, Henri is not allowed to see the murder weapon nor the crime scene and he must work the case solo. He does, however, manage to enlist the help of Nicola, a very sharp secretary in the police department. They make a great pair of sleuths.
Henri is that rare character that I clicked with from the first page, quirks and all. He, along with Nicola and Mimi, are going to be the reason I will reserve a spot on my 'must be read' list for more in this well written and engrossing series.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Paris, 1940: Inspector Henri Lefort is given an impossible task - to solve a murder in 5 short days without being allowed access to the crime scene, and without upsetting his Nazi minders. As he follows the few clues as well as his instincts, he uncovers secrets of others while trying to hide some secrets of his own. Some cameos of real, famous people rounded out my enjoyment of this book!

What an amazing cross between a detective novel and a historical fiction! I enjoyed every bit of this book (and I hope for a sequel, although I was not left hanging, thankfully!)

If you enjoy books with a thoughtful Inspector (several British books come to mind, as well a Canadian one), or if you enjoy historical fiction and you're tired of the WWII novels that all seem to merge together, then you will love this book by Mark Pryor!

I would also recommend for a book club as there is a lot to discuss!

Henri Lefort is a police inspector in Nazi occupied Paris when he is assigned to solve a murder at the Louvre. The occupiers give him a list of 'acceptable suspects', a short deadline, and no access to the murder site. If that doesn't make his job hard enough, he has a nosy psychoanalyst prying into his mind and his past, where he has plenty of secrets that it is vital to keep.

Lefort suffers from misophonia. It wasn't clear how central his condition was to the plot, but it was an interesting sideline.

I keep thinking I'm done with World War II, but Paris and its art lured me in, and I'm glad they did!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had the pleasure of reading a pre-publication version of "Die Around Sundown," thanks to NetGalley. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it when I first started reading. The setting of this novel isn't exactly one of the bright spots in human history. It's set in Paris, shortly after Nazi Germany has invaded and taken over. Our protagonist is a French police detective, Inspector Henri Lefort, who is assigned to solve the murder of a German officer. As much pressure as that might normally be, he is faced with another German officer who seems to be deliberately in his way. This same officer clearly has a preferred list of suspects he'd like Henri to pin the murder on. Henri, however, is driven to find the actual murderer.

As the story unfolds, we encounter fascinating characters and peel back the layers of Henri's life, from his time as a combat soldier in the First World War to his present-day occupied Paris. "Die Around Sundown" takes us from tense times of concern, with true life-and-death situations, to times of hope for the good people trapped in the nightmare of occupied Paris. I'll watch for the next novel in Inspector Lefort's saga, as Mark Pryor has me invested in where things go after this. Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy the start of this new series.

I am weirdly on the fence with this one.
I like where it went but I thought it took way to long to get there. This should be read when you have a lot of time.

Set in Paris, the year is 1940 and the Nazis have been in control of the city for a few short weeks. Long enough to be hated by many. Long enough to start the rape and pillage of Paris. Long enough that the better houses, buildings and apartments are being requisitioned. Long enough that the Louvre is closed and many of its treasures are being wrapped and being “repatriated” to Germany and Italy. Long enough that people are being rounded up and sent off to labor camps and worse.

This book was so close to perfect it was scary. A murder in a war - what could be more commonplace. But this murder is set within a crime, within a war, within what could be another murder if Inspector Henri Lefort doesn’t solve this particular case before the one week timeline set by Sturmbannfuhrer Ludwig Vogel - yep Henri Lefort could be facing the firing squad because a demented Nazi is on a supreme power trip.

In the course of investigating a robbery, which is also triple murder, at the home of psychoanalyst Princess Marie Bonaparte we are introduced to the woman who is going to delve into the backstory of “a glib sort of man”, Inspector Lefort. I love this guy even with his allergy to noises, a condition which is going to be called hyperphonia. He is bright, he is sarcastic, he is just about perfect, but don’t eat carrots or celery or anything that crunches in his presence.

This was such a satisfying book. Perfect in so many ways. Great story, great hook into the backstory, setting, dialog, emotions, descriptions all completely engaging. Thank you Minotaur and NetGalley for a copy.

It's 1940, the Germans have occupied Paris, and a member of the SS has been murdered inside the Louvre. French policeman Henri Leduc is given one week to solve the murder, before being tortured and killed by the SS. But he is not allowed access to the body or the crime scene. Instead, the SS provides him with a list of likely suspects.
I always enjoy Mark Pryor's mysteries, and this one is filled with several plot twists, and even a bit of psychoanalysis.

A “hard-boiled” Parisian detective’s skirmish with the German occupiers in 1940 is action-packed and has enough twists and turns to keep one guessing. Thanks to #NetGalley and #DieAroundSundown for advanced digital copy.

Die Around Sundown really impressed me. I didn't realize it was the first in a new series so that makes me really excited to read more of this! The narrative and storytelling are compelling and kept me on the edge of my seat. I'm a huge historical fiction fan, specifically WWII and Paris so this was a win-win for me! And Mark Pryor executed it perfectly.
I will be recommending this novel to all my friends!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to review this novel.

It is 1940 and Germany has recently invaded and now occupies Paris. A senior member of the feared SS comes to Inspector Henri Lefort directing him to solve the murder of a German officer who was killed in the Louvre. He is given a list of suspects, is instructed not to go to the famous art museum during the investigation, and is told he has but one week to solve the case. Fearing for what may happen if he does not meet the deadline but true to his personal convictions, he presses on while at the same time coming to grips with his past. Filled with interesting characters and multiple plot twists and turns, Pryor (whose earlier books I have enjoyed) creates a fun read. The pre-publication publicity for this book indicates that this is the first in a new series. Whilst not publicized as historical fiction, the description of Paris during the early stages of WWII portray the atmosphere of fear and intimidation that existed. Lefort is a likable protagonist - quick with his tongue but dogged in his investigation. I look forward to the follow-up to a very enjoyable read. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

This first book in a new series by a new to me author, Mark Pryor, is exceptional! Henri Lefort is a detective in a 1940 German occupied France. The setting was so unique and unlike any other mystery that I've read. It added such a different perspective to the story providing another layer of danger and suspense. Lefort is assigned a murder case...the murder of a German soldier! With the German authorities imposing unrealistic deadlines and roadblocks, Lefort continues his investigation which takes him into the art world within the Louve with deliberate reasoning. Not only his Lefort hiding his hatred of the Germans but also something else. The story not only centers around the murder mystery, but also Lefort's personal story. And both include several twists that took me quite by surprise!
If you are a fan of Louise Penny's Three Pines series, you would love this as well. It's not an action-packed thriller. It's a historical mystery with an introspective detective that uses observation and deductive reasoning to solve his cases. The secondary characters were all clever and interesting and I hope to see them again in future books!
Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for sending me this arc for my review.