(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

The last time Jean-Louis St-Cyr visited the ruins of this ancient abbey, during one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Great War, a sniper nearly killed him. Three decades later, death has brought him here again. Ever since the German occupation of France, the chief inspector has worked alongside German detective inspector Hermann Kohler, solving crimes too common to pique the Gestapo’s interest. Now, during the fall of 1943, the war is going badly for the Third Reich, but conflicts continue to plague these two unlikely allies.
A bank-owned cargo van is parked near the crumbling monastery, its contents ransacked, its passengers murdered. The killers took small bills but left behind a bounty in smuggled champagne, cheese, and coffee. Even more confounding is the expensive pair of high heels left behind. Were the thieves from the Resistance, or from the underworld? Who is the mysterious woman who was wearing those shoes? St-Cyr and Kohler have a feeling that the answers are hiding in the cold French rain.

This was the 16th book in the St-Cyr / Kohler series - but only the first time I had come across them (I can hear all the devotees screaming at me now!) It is very hard to give a review about characters that have have been developed over a long period of time, so I will stick to the story...

...which was pretty good, all things considered. The mystery was so-so but all the little pieces were fascinating and the author did a lovely job of pulling them all together at the end.

Again, hard to really make a judgement on the characters but there were times when I felt it would have really helped to have read a few books beforehand to get a better idea of who these people are and the stories behind them.

Overall, a decent story that would have benefitted me by reading a few more of the earlier tales...


Paul
ARH