A Blood Red Morning

Inspector Henri Lefort #3

by Mark Pryor

In this unputdownable WWII series, Paris detective Henri Lefort, must solve a complex case when a man is murdered on the policeman's own doorstep.

January 1941: It's cold and still dark when Paris Detective Henri Lefort wakes up to an empty apartment, irritated with his roommate for not even starting the coffee.

Irritation turns to suspicion when he starts his walk to work and spots a large blood stain in front of the building. At the office his boss, chief of homicide, is incredulous that Henri didn't hear the gunshot that killed a man right outside his apartment. On the plus side, this means that Henri isn't a witness and can investigate the case.

It first appears that the dead man is a nobody—but Henri soon finds out he's a nobody with a classified police file. Henri confronts his bosses and then the Germans, but is stonewalled. So he turns his investigation to the other tenants in his building. Coincidentally, each resident claims ignorance. When Henri learns that the dead man was a German agent, he must face the real possibility that one of his friends and neighbors is a killer. It's his job to find the truth no matter what, but when he does he faces the biggest dilemma of his career—whether in times like these the rules of justice should be, just sometimes, trumped by the rules of war.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Crime, World War II, France, Fiction, Historical Mystery

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2024

About the author

Mark Pryor is a former newspaper reporter from England. He moved to the US in 1995 and subsequently spent 16 years working as a prosecutor with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, in Austin, Texas. He is now a partner at the law firm of Cofer & Connelly, in Austin.

His upcoming book DIE AROUND SUNDOWN is the first in a new series of historical mysteries set in Paris during WW2. It will be published August 16, 2022, by St. Martin's/Minotaur.

Mark is also the author of the Hugo Marston mystery series, set in Paris, London, and Barcelona. The first in the series, THE BOOKSELLER, was a Library Journal Debut of the Month, and called "unputdownable" by Oprah.com, and the series has been featured in the New York Times. Mark also wrote the psychological thrillers, HOLLOW MAN, and its sequel, DOMINIC. As a prosecutor, he has appeared on CBS News's 48 Hours and Discovery Channel's Discovery ID: Cold Blood.

Of his books, reviewers said:

"[G]ood character development, increasing levels of action and suspense, a complex and deranged antagonist, and--once again--appealing Paris settings. The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan's watch list."
--Booklist

"Haunting imagery in Père La Chaise cemetery sets the stage for Pryor's chilling sophomore entry, and the City of Light becomes a backdrop for Marston's adventures. The clever antagonist leads him on a merry chase that will keep the reader entertained throughout."
--RT Book Reviews

"Two young lovers make the fatal mistake of sneaking into Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery the same night as a bone-stealing psychopath in Pryor's propulsive second novel starring affable former FBI profiler Hugo Marston.... The engaging characters sweep readers into a suspenseful chase from Pigalle to the Pyrenées."
--Publishers Weekly

The third Hugo Marston novel, THE BLOOD PROMISE, was released in January 2014. It may be his best yet...

"Mark Pryor is one of the smartest new writers on the block. His new novel is a doozy."
--Philip Kerr, author of A Man Without Breath, a Bernie Gunther novel

"Pryor seems to have hit his stride in this series, as he adroitly juxtaposes the light banter between Marston and Green with some scenes of intense emotion.... And, all the while, the suspense ramps up. Top-notch mystery in a skillfully delineated Parisian setting."
--Booklist

Mark is also the author of the true crime book, AS SHE LAY SLEEPING, which is the account of a "cold" murder case he prosecuted. Published in January 2013, Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review and called it "compelling" and "riveting."

Reviews

[Abibliofob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henri Lefort doesn't have it easy, he is a homicide detective in Paris during the nazi occupation. A Blood Red Morning is the third book in this series by Mark Pryor and it's another masterpiece. I love the setting and the characters Pryor has created and the problems with solving crimes during wartime is a great way to complicate things for our hero. Justice is not always what you expect during wartime and Henri does not get much help from his closest friends, since they have decided to oppose the German forces in France. I was actually fed up with books about the second world war since I have read so much about it but this series have such a great twist that I can't help myself from reading it and Pryor is a fantastic author. I can really recommend his work. I give a big thanks to Minotaur Books Macmillan and Edelweiss for giving me this advance copy. Keep you eyes peeled for the August release.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.25 stars)
Mark Pryor has written another excellent crime novel, featuring Paris detective Henri Lefort. The unique premise of this series is the difficulties in doing “regular” police work in an occupied city (Paris, 1941). If you’re a fan of police procedurals and also like historical fiction, this series is perfect for you. A Blood Red Morning is the third book in this series - and yes, you could read this as a standalone but you’d miss a lot of the backstory on the various characters.

This time the crime hits really close to home. Someone has been murdered right outside his apartment building. Since he didn’t see or hear anything, his boss decides it’s okay for him to head the investigation. Of course, due to manpower shortages, that means he’s the only one doing the investigation! It gets even more complicated when the murdered man turns out to be a Frenchman working for the N*zis.

Along the way, we get to see how ordinary Parisians were dealing with shortages - of food and many other things - and how they tried to sabotage or at least resist the N*zis in various ways. Will Lefort get pulled into the underground resistance movement while keeping his police job?

I truly hope there will be more books in this series!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fear and loathing of an occupied city during the second world war, told from the point of view of a homicide detective perilously balancing between the Germans in charge and his own responsibilities, adds deep nuance to this procedural case, with little adherence to normalcy.

[Ronak AhmadyAhangar · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a normal day I honestly have no patience whatsoever for the little quirks that are suppressed to make one typical detective stand out from the others, but this guy’s misophonia is something else entirely! Very good stuff

[Meghan Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I say this every time I read a book in this series and that’s I don’t understand how more aren’t talking about it. I’ll continue to read as many as mark writes for it

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Police Inspector Henri Lefort is back in Mark Pryor's third novel, "A Blood Red Morning". Lefort is a French police detective, living in 1941 Paris under the German occupation, trying to balance his hatred of the Germans with doing his day-to-day job under German direction.

This time the crime comes home to Lefort: someone is killed right in front of his apartment building. When it is determined that the victim was investigating complaints for the Nazis, Lefort is torn between doing his job and letting his sense of justice take hold. But if he doesn't investigate, others will follow, and he and his neighbors will have their lives upended and threatened. Can one of Lefort's neighbors really be the killer? Add to that illegally printed leaflets, black market food, and a new building concierge from Greece, and Lefort has to juggle all the aspects of his life while keeping the enemy at bay.

Another fine outing, although it seems that Lefort is getting a little too mouthy for his own good.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The third in the Detective Henri LeFort series, and while I did enjoy it, something about it just wasn't as good for me as the previous two. Some of the characters we know (and love, for the most part) return in this novel, including Mimi, Nicola, and Daniel - and there are new ones added to the mix. The writing style remains engaging, and the characters are interesting. I admit I love the snark that Henri often brazenly throws in to conversations with the Germans, which could obviously be detrimental to him, but he does it anyway as an act of rebellion (or, just because it's his personality). As always, occupied Paris is a background character, making a lovely, but sad, setting. I again got a bit lost in the details of the case, but overall its resolution was satisfactory at the end. I look forward to other future novels in this series, if there are any.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the series. Henri Lefort is a Paris detective during WW II. Wartime adds another layer to the already complicated process of solving murders and advancing the cause of justice. In this installment, a man is found dead in front of an apartment building in Paris. Coincidentally, it is the building where Henri and his sister Nicola live. The man is a German sympathizer. Who was he investigating in Henri’s building? Nothing is as it seems, it’s difficult to tell friend from enemy and the threat of German reprisals looms over everything.

[Art Enyedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Blood Red Morning is the third book in the ongoing Detective Henri Lefort series. It is New Year's Eve, 1940, in bleak Paris ruled by the Nazis. The book begins with Chief Louis Proulx assigning a homicide case to Lefort. What's unusual is that the murder happened right outside Lefort's apartment building. But since Lefort slept right through the incident (not awakened by the gunfire), Lefort is not a potential witness. The Chief is low on capable detectives (perhaps because the Nazis have moved so many young men out of the city to toil in factories or work camps), so Henri gets the case. (I did wonder how Henri got to work that morning without walking right past the crime scene - Guy Remillon was shot at the entrance to his building.)

The first order of business is for Lefort to interview all the other tenants in his apartment building - perhaps not everyone is as sound a sleeper as himself, and they might have heard or seen something. Readers of the first two books in the series know that Lefort's sister, Nicola, shares the apartment with him, and on the floor below is Mimi - "the princess" - a direct descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte. Lefort trusts these two completely, but there are other occupants in the building to be questioned.

On the ground floor is an attractive young woman - Natalia Tsokos, new to the building, she is the concierge, taking over the role previous held by her uncle, who moved to Greece. Is it coincidence she arrives just when there is a murder?

When Lefort knocks on the door of the single woman Claire Raphael, he discovers she is "entertaining" a high ranking SS officer. Lefort tries not to judge, people do what they can to survive desperate times in wartime Paris, but the thought of a Gestapo man in his building is alarming.

The most odious character is a perpetually complaining man named Gerald Darroze. He claims to know nothing, but Natalia says she heard him throw something into the trash after the murder.

The reader learns about corbeaus, (crows), people who anonymously snitch on their neighbors to the Nazis - accusing them of black market activities, violating curfews, or being Jewish. Many of these complaints are frivolous, with angry neighbors settling long time scores against persons with whom they bear a grudge. The Nazis have found that it is best to send another Frenchman to perform the initial investigation of the complaint. Only if there is some merit in the accusation will the heavy hand of the Nazis get involved. Lefort soon discovers that the murdered man, Guy Remillon, was one of these Nazi collaborators. So plenty of reason for people to want him dead.

Complicating Lefort's investigation is that small newspapers are being printed and distributed around Paris by the French resistance. These newspapers point out the Nazi crimes and injustices. Naturally, the Nazis want these printing presses shut down and the authors captured. Lefort is assigned the role of finding these illicit printers - he tries to explain that he is a homicide detective, but the Nazis are not listening and demand immediate answers.

There is a lot to like in this story. The depictions of the oppressive Nazi rule are good, with the fear and rage that their presence causes. The French each react in their own way, everyone trying to survive another day. The mystery about who shot Remillon is also intriguing, with plenty of suspects and clues. Plus, there a plenty of harrowing scenes where Lefort is in danger, or else when he is trying to save people that he cares about from the murderous Nazis. This series is worth reading.

*** Warning - Spoiler below ***

At one point, Lefort calls up the old concierge Lucas, now living in Greece, to see if Natalia Tsokos story checks out. Lefort recalls a story about how Lucas had hidden a Christmas gift, a new bicycle, for him in a store room, but Henri had accidentally found it. But Henri is actually living the life of his brother. As we learned in book 1, Henri assumed the identity of his dead brother to avoid a murder accusation. So if Lucas remembers the bicycle gift incident, wouldn't he realize that Henri is the wrong brother?

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Inspector Henry Lefort because, like in most European cop TV shows, he's a flawed character. A murder detective in Paris during World War 2, he's forced to do what the Nazis tell him since Paris is under siege, but he tries his best to protect his family and friends from the horrors around them. There was one scene that shocked me a bit in this book, when he blatantly broke the law, but I kept comparing him to the ethical detective in Foyle's War, which is set in WW2 England. I don't recommend watching that show while reading this book--too many similarities! I do love Lefort's complicated relationships with his sister, Princess Bonaparte, and his coworkers that he finds stupid. Honestly, I could have cared less about the murder that Lefort was investigating because the drama and intrigue about the inhabitants his apartment building was the real mystery.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I couldn't help but marvel yet again at the world we now lived in-one where I, a police detective, was dumping the body of a neighbor in the dark of night. A world where that was absolutely the best option, and one where two soldiers were more interested in smoking their cigarettes in peace than investigating why a cop was driving around town with a fresh corpse on the floorboards of his car."
This is police detective Henri Lefort's world in German occupied France in 1941. Never in his wildest thoughts did Henri foresee such a thing happening to him. He's no stranger to violence and his identity isn't what it seems, but dealing with Nazi cruelty has taken him to another level and he will do anything to protect Natalia and his neighbors.
This is the third and the best so far in the Henri Lefort series.

[Jodi Pomerleau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of the series that I have read and I want to read more! I enjoyed this story very much. It takes place in occupied Paris, and it is gritty and does not gloss over the cruel treatment by the Germans of the French citizenry. I was on the edge of my seat at times fearing for the lives of the main characters. Lefort is tasked with finding who murdered a man in the front of his building. Lefort must use his wits and cunning to investigate while at the same time protecting his friends. He has to face his own morality in how he deals with situations that arise. It makes me think what I would have done in similar circumstances. A good whodunit and a good reflection of the times.

[David Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best of the Henri Lefort series. As with the Bernie Gunther series before him, which focused on a homicide detective in WWII Berlin, Henri Lefort is forced to walk a similar tightrope as a Paris detective in 1941. Despite being a dedicated police officer, Lefort finds that it is impossible to view things in a black-and-white manner when Paris is under the harsh and bloody rule of the Gestapo. Thus, amidst the background of Nazi occupied Paris, Lefort is forced to adjust his moral compass and beliefs as a sworn officer of the law to deal with crime on a completely different level than he had ever before encountered. Truly, this is a well written and fascinating novel.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Horrors of War

This series just keeps getting more intense as the German occupation of Paris continues. Moral/ethical decisions are no longer black and white, even for Lefort who has sworn to uphold the law. As those closest to him face new dangers, he must make decisions that run counter to his true nature. Hopefully the next chapter in this compelling series will be forthcoming soon.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ★ An informative read on this 3rd book in the series. Can't imagine living in Nazi occupied France and this series does a great job of transporting you to the streets of 1940's Paris. Our French Detective is on the trail of trying to find out who murdered a local Frenchman, who is working for the Nazis, outside his apartment building while at the same time cowering under the Nazi regime, with his own set of problems.

[Michael Springer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5 It's New Year's Eve 1940 in Paris, and the city has become bleak after six months of Nazi occupation. Detective Henri Lefort is assigned to investigate a murder in his own building, which may cause major complications for his family and friends, thanks to one neighbor who is writing accusatory letters to the Germans.

[William Herlong · Rating 5 out of 5]

different and highly enjoyable

The typical grizzled misfit detective, but with a highly specific and extensive differentiation — he is working for the a French police in occupied Paris. I wonder where Pryor came up with the set-up. But it works, that with the excellent writing and well-thought out plot.

[Mike Vines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in occupied Paris, 1940, Henri investigates the murder of a Nazi collaborator, of course, with mixed emotions. Tense and fast-moving, interesting series. Remember to shop your local, independent bookstores. The need your support.

[Judie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series gets better with each book. Looking forward to more.

[Linda Reding · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast read in a strong series

[Avril · Rating 4 out of 5]

i hope there’s gonna be more books in this series. Loved it

4.2

[Judy Nappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, another great series! Interesting characters and a plot filled with twists and turns that you may not expect.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.

[Andrea Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the character Detective Henri Lefort, he’s witty, clever and sarcastic. Set in occupied Paris in 1941, the rules for the police are changing. A complex mystery.

[Becky Zagor · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for a witty and humorous detective solving another difficult case. LOVE this quirky guy!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining. Fast read.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting ideas about the conflicts a police officer faced during the occupation of Paris.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really brings that time and place into focus.

[Cutty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very readable book by Mark Pryor. There was enough mystery and suspense in this book to keep me turning the pages. I’m giving it a four star because I didn’t particularly like the outcome.