Le sang des farines

Nicolas Le Floch #6

by Jean-François Parot

Nicolas Le Floch, commissaire au Châtelet sous le règne du jeune Louis XVI, se trouve plongé au cœur de terribles événements à la fois politiques et personnels. De retour d'une mission en Autriche où il fait d'étonnantes découvertes sur les atteintes portées au Secret du Roi, il retrouve un Paris en colère où la guerre des farines fait rage. Avec le soutien du roi et l'aide de ses fidèles amis, il enquête sur la mort suspecte d'un boulanger qui l'amène bientôt à soupçonner un complot et des liens entre ces événements et ceux survenus à Vienne. Les mystères s'accumulent et Nicolas devra faire vite pour résoudre cette affaire qui met en péril l'équilibre déjà précaire du pays ainsi que son propre fils. Avec cette nouvelle enquête, couronnée par le prix de l'Académie de Bretagne, Jean-François Parot nous entraîne dans l'Europe des Lumières avec son inimitable talent pour le suspense et la reconstitution historique.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery, France, Historical

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Jean-François Parot is a French diplomat and writer of historical mysteries, born in Paris.

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good historical mystery, and this book does NOT disappoint for that genre. This is the 6th book in the Nicolas Le Floch series which is set in France just years prior to the French Revolution.

Police Commisoner Nicolas Le Floch must solve the murder of Master Baker, Jacques Murot who is found dead in his kneading trough. This book is steeped in historical facts and is set in a really complex time in French history. The murder mystery keeps the story moving along, while enlightening the reader to some elements of French history they may have been unaware of.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series, and didn't feel like I was at a loss with the characters or backstory while reading this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, and Gallic Books for providing an e-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading this book very slowly because I just didn't want it to end, it's the last in a series of six books written by French author JF Parot. I first read the fifth book in the series and later realised that it was a series, so of course, I had to start at the beginning and read all six in the correct order (don't you hate that)! Anyway, these books are set over a period of ten years leading up tp the French Revolution and the same principal characters are in each book. The writing of these murder mysteries is so sophisticated with very complex plots and lots of adventure abounding that any reader will enjpy them. If you are a fan of this period and read murder mysteries then you will thoroughly enjoy these books. I highly recommend them!

[Robert Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good read The story was a bit complicated but worth reading The habit of explaining the recipes for the food that is consumed is a bit odd it adds nothing to the story I have to say it's not often I read a book which gives me indigestion .
This is the sixth book in a series unfortunately , as far as I can see , the remainder have not been translated into English

[Iñaki Tofiño · Rating 5 out of 5]

Génial, comme d'habitude. Polar, roman historique, langage absolument fantastique... Ce qui me préoccupe est le fait que les ans passent et la Révolution va arriver; que va se passer alors avec Monsieur Le Floch?

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mystery set in an interesting time period. Very wordy though

[Barbaraehanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having felt these were getting predictable, I should have appreciated the fact that there was a shift in genre here from detective story to historical novel. (Although the dénouement did reveal some setting of clues for the reader which have not always featured in the more strictly 'policiers' of the series.) However, for the first time, I felt as if I really didn't know enough of the historical background to follow. And I discovered that without the dominant investigation to carry me along, this was a bit of a slog at times. I guess I just didn't care enough about the characters this time round...... Perhaps if these had always been adventure stories, I would have been less impatient at the deferral of the dénouement in favour of the domestic details of shopping, Louis's new clothes - which appeared as an interruption - unlike the acquisition of the green suit in volume one.

However, as NLF morphs into the Marquis de Ranreuil (il assume le titre et, au moins partiellement son rôle) and the French Revolution looms, one can't help but wondering where this series will go.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in favour with his superior and trusted by the King, Nicolas le Floch is entrusted on a diplomatic mission to Austria. Whilst there he realises that the relationships between the two countries are complex and that spying and diplomacy are used by both to undermine and influence. Returning to Paris le Floch discovers unrest among the masses and rumours of a plot to drive up the price of bread, then the local baker is discovered dead. Is this part of the plot or is it a simpler tale of a man who is being cuckolded?

Again Parot has created a complex and satisfying mystery with a continuing sense of time and place. The research and referencing around the political and social history is outstanding. Parot has taken an unashamedly royalist stance in terms of both his characters and his treatment of the potential rebels but he is adept at showing that even with the ruling classes there is discord and political manoeuvring.

[E Vikander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Police Commissioner, Nicholas le Floch, must solve the murder of master baker Jacques Mourut found dead in his kneading trough. To complicate matters, the citizens are inflamed over the rising cost of bread and the grain and flour monopolies. Mobs smash shop windows and stores are looted. Set in 1775 France, a complicated web of politics and greed entwines the commissioner’s duty just as a new King (Louis XVI) is about to be crowned—the seeds are sown for the revolution that follows 13 years later. This is a beautifully told mystery with rich detail and many endearing characters. One of the unexpected treats in this novel are the descriptions of the voluptuous meals shared. The Baker’s Blood is the sixth book in the Nicholas le Floch series. I found it perfectly understandable, even though I have not yet read the previous books. The plot is complex, the action non-stop, and Le Floch is sublime. Read it and be entranced.

[Alain]

Une nouvelle enqu?te du commissaire Nicolas Le Floch : le roi Louis XV est mort et il travaille d?sormais pour son petit fils Louis XVI. Il est ainsi envoy? en mission ? Vienne pour ?lucider la fa?on dont les Autrichiens ont bien pu se procurer les clefs du Secret du Roi. A peine est-il rentr? que le boulanger qui officiait au rez-de-chauss?e de son logis est assassin?. Le commissaire va s?apercevoir que toutes ses ?nigmes finissent par se recouper.




Je n?ai pas ?t? emball?e par cette histoire. L?intrigue ne sonne pas toujours juste. Mais surtout, le style est bavard. Il y a de nombreuses digressions qui n?apportent rien au r?cit.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came upon this crime novel by chance, in Brittany. It got an Academie de Bretagne prize, so I picked it up - and enjoyed it. The author convincingly recreates 18th century France, just pre-revolutionary, with lively descriptions of Paris and Vienna street life, food and meals prepared and Versailles court protocol. The crime plot excites at the beginning, does get a little lost in the interim and its resolution is not as fascinating as its outset, but that does not, for some reason, make the novel uninteresting.

[Eileen Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Nicholas Le Floch story, this time involving Marie Antoinette initially.
He travels to Austria to deliver a bust of her to her mother, but is secretly checking up on the French secret intelligence in that country.
When he returns to Paris he finds that all is not well including the death of a baker.
Jean- Francois Parot never fails to paint vivid pictures of life in Paris during this turbulent time and I look forward to reading more from him.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Gallic Books via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[GBL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another mystery for Nicolas to solve, set in 1775 against the background of the coronation of Louis XVI and bread riots in Paris - a hint of the Revolution to come. The murder of a baker links to the wider political situation and in an intricate story Parot successfully brings the two together. The descriptions of Paris are detailed and give a real sense of a city in turmoil on the brink of revolt.

[Tom Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paris in 1775, with bread riots, Austrian intrigue, a dead baker, and a kidnapping. Nicolas La Floch must tie it all together amidst the growing unrest of pre-revolutionary France. As always the plot is stretched, but the regular characters - Bourdreau, Semacgus, et al - are great, and Parot’s descriptions of everything from the food to the smells is marvelous. Admittedly I struggle with some of the 18th century language, but these books are super fun.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une très divertissante enquête du Commissaire Le Floch.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pas à la hauteur des précédents. L'intrigue est confuse et l'écriture est faible.