The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris by Mark Pryor

 

First Line: The darkness was complete and, for someone who'd never received so much as a parking ticket, the starless night sky and black leafless trees were a protection greatly valued as The Shadow slipped a key into the front door.

Former head of security at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, Hugo Marston, has retired. It's time to make his lifelong dream of owning a mystery and antiquarian bookshop come true. Then comes the call from J. Bradford Taylor, the U.S. Ambassador. A chocolatier has been targeted for blackmail, and the ambassador calls in Marston to investigate. Hugo must find a way to make the ambassador happy and get his bookshop ready for its grand opening at the same time.

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A few years ago, I read the first of Mark Pryor's Hugo Marston mysteries, The Bookseller, and although I did like the book's window into Parisian life and its strong mystery, the characters failed to "click" with me. I decided to give Hugo another chance in Pryor's The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris, the first in his new Paris Bookshop series.

Once again, I was transported to Paris. I enjoyed watching Hugo and his assistant, Blake Holmes, talk mysteries while getting the shop ready for business. I learned a great deal about the chocolate business, and the 18th-century chateau and former convent was the perfect location for Eclat de Chocolat. I even learned about what is entailed in being given a Royal Warrant.

The mystery is strong and kept me guessing, but-- once again-- the cast just didn't click with this character-driven reader. Why? It's a mystery to me because I do like Hugo Marston and his friends. It's like real life, I suppose. I've met many people that I've liked, yet had no desire to further an acquaintance with them.

However, don't let my lukewarm reaction keep you from giving this book a try. There's a lot to like about it, and it may just be your perfect cup of tea.

The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris by Mark Pryor

eISBN: 9781496756404

Kensington © 2026

eBook, 272 pages

Thriller/Suspense, #1 Paris Bookshop

Rating: C+

Source: Net Galley

The Bookseller by Mark Pryor

First Line: The largest of Notre Dame's bells tolled noon just as Hugo reached the end of the bridge, the brittle air seeming to hold on to the final clang longer than usual.

Hugo Marston, head of security at the U.S. Embassy, enjoys his posting in Paris, and has made friends-- or as much as he can-- with irascible old Max, a well-known bouquiniste (bookstall owner), who can usually find the books Hugo is looking for. When Hugo is forced to stand and watch Max be kidnapped at gunpoint, he is determined to find the elderly man before it is too late. When local police insist there has been no kidnapping, Hugo takes some time off to conduct his own search with the help of his friend, semi-retired CIA agent Tom Green.

When the two men learn more of Max's background, they don't know if he was kidnapped because of the books he sold or because of his past. Then other bouquinistes begin to disappear only for their bodies to be discovered later floating in the Seine. Hugo himself becomes a target, and he's going to have to find some way to convince the police to become involved.

I enjoyed The Bookseller for its window into Parisian life and for the background it provided of the bookstall owners. I've seen so many photographs of the bouquinistes, yet this is the first time I've read anything of their history. It was fascinating.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book wasn't on par with its insights into Paris and one of its institutions. Having deduced what was happening to the booksellers and why very early on, I wondered how long it would take Hugo Marston to put the pieces together. Too long, as it happens. Moreover, Marston himself never really clicked as a main character for me, and neither did his friend Tom Green. Both have promise, but both lacked that indefinable spark that would bring them to life.

Now that I've said all that, I will say that this is a promising debut mystery, and I am more than willing to give the next book in the series a try. 
  

The Bookseller by Mark Pryor

ISBN:  9781616147099

Seventh Street Books © 2012

eBook, 312 pages

Law Enforcement, #1 Hugo Marston mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.