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Anne Cartier #6
Cruel Choices
Spring, 1788. Anne Cartier is searching for missing Lucie Gigot, last seen with the Marquis de Bresses valet. The trail leads to the marquis himself, a notorious libertine. When Bresse is found dead in the Seine, Annes quest turns into a murder investigation. Together with her husband and his adjutant, she uncovers a vicious network of pimps, brothel madams and corrupt policemen that traffics in human flesh.
213 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2007
7 people want to read
About the author
Charles O'Brien
29 books18 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
The Columbia University educated historian embarked on his mystery writing career in 1988, six years before he retired from the WIU history department. O'Brien's wife Elvy, an art historian, had moved to Williamstown, VA, after accepting a position with the J. Paul Getty Trust, then at the Clark Art Institute. That began a series of long commutes for O'Brien.
"I wanted to make use of time on board (trains and planes) and in airports. Many of my fellow passengers were reading crime novels. I thought why not exploit my fund of historical settings and write a historical mystery," O'Brien explained. "The idea of 'Mute Witness' blossomed in the air between Albany and Chicago."
When O'Brien retired in 1994 after 22 years of teaching at Western, he began to seriously study the art of writing fiction with colleague Tama Baldwin of the WIU English faculty.
The Columbia University educated historian embarked on his mystery writing career in 1988, six years before he retired from the WIU history department. O'Brien's wife Elvy, an art historian, had moved to Williamstown, VA, after accepting a position with the J. Paul Getty Trust, then at the Clark Art Institute. That began a series of long commutes for O'Brien.
"I wanted to make use of time on board (trains and planes) and in airports. Many of my fellow passengers were reading crime novels. I thought why not exploit my fund of historical settings and write a historical mystery," O'Brien explained. "The idea of 'Mute Witness' blossomed in the air between Albany and Chicago."
When O'Brien retired in 1994 after 22 years of teaching at Western, he began to seriously study the art of writing fiction with colleague Tama Baldwin of the WIU English faculty.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 7, 2011
Anne Cartier sets out to help her Provost husband, Paul, solve the mystery of what happened to a young missing girl who appeared to be working as a prostitute in the Paris area. Things become complicated when her apparent abductor, a Sade-like young member of the aristocracy, himself goes missing.
April 20, 2022
Normally I am one who likes to start at the beginning of a series and read through in order to enjoy the development of the characters and so on. In this case, I started with “Cruel Choices” #6 (2007) as that is the copy I picked up at our libraries’ annual book sale. This series takes place in Paris during the late 1700’s in the per-Revolutionary environment of Paris. The protagonist is Anne Cartier, an intellectual, strong willed female about whom the reader will grow to care.
It is Spring, 1788; our protagonist Anne Cartier is searching for a missing Lucie Gigot who was last seen with the Marquis de Bresse’s valet. The trail eventually leads to the Marquis himself, a notorious libertine. Anne sets out to help her Provost husband, Paul, solve the mystery of what happened to this young missing girl who appeared to be working as a prostitute in Paris. Anne's quest turns into a murder investigation. Together with her husband and his adjutant, she uncovers a vicious network of pimps, brothel madams and corrupt policemen all who traffic in human flesh.
In “Cruel Choices,” O’Brien develops his main characters fully – especially Anne Cartier. The minor characters tend to be flat characters who emphasize a certain character trait. The way he uses local color to paint a picture of the per-Revolutionary environment of Paris and its countryside is well done; he has done his research. The plot is well crafted with some darker areas. I will now have to look for more of his Anne Cartier series. If you enjoy historical mysteries, give this series a try.
It is Spring, 1788; our protagonist Anne Cartier is searching for a missing Lucie Gigot who was last seen with the Marquis de Bresse’s valet. The trail eventually leads to the Marquis himself, a notorious libertine. Anne sets out to help her Provost husband, Paul, solve the mystery of what happened to this young missing girl who appeared to be working as a prostitute in Paris. Anne's quest turns into a murder investigation. Together with her husband and his adjutant, she uncovers a vicious network of pimps, brothel madams and corrupt policemen all who traffic in human flesh.
In “Cruel Choices,” O’Brien develops his main characters fully – especially Anne Cartier. The minor characters tend to be flat characters who emphasize a certain character trait. The way he uses local color to paint a picture of the per-Revolutionary environment of Paris and its countryside is well done; he has done his research. The plot is well crafted with some darker areas. I will now have to look for more of his Anne Cartier series. If you enjoy historical mysteries, give this series a try.
January 25, 2021
Each time I finish another book in this wonderful series, I think it must be the best one, but I now think this one is my favorite (so far lol). I love how Dr. O’Brien develops his characters and the way he can really paint a picture of the pre-Revolutionary environment of Paris and the countryside. I always look forward to reading more about the three main characters and others who have become continuing characters after appearing in earlier books. Reading any of the mysteries in this series is a real treat. They are all 5+ stars!
July 9, 2023
An interesting detective story set in Paris in 1788 during the time immediately preceding the French Revolution.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews