A Most Perfect Tranquility

Paul Gastebois #2

by Laura Lebow

Versailles, 1789: Over a thousand noble, clerical, and commoner deputies from all over France have descended on the seat of Louis XVI’s court for the Estates General, called by the king to solve the nation’s financial crisis. After weeks of discord, the commoner deputies have disregarded the instructions of their monarch and declared themselves to be a new National Assembly. The king, in mourning for his dead heir, appears to have accepted the National Assembly for the moment.

Paul Gastebois is summoned to Versailles by his old friend Hyacinthe de Breul, a deputy to the EstatesGeneral who is also enjoying a reunion with old friends from the elite school in Paris, Louis-le-Grand. On a dark night outside the king’s château, a hidden man with a stutter threatened to kill Hyacinthe. As Paul searches the town for the young groom who might have menaced Hyacinthe, hundreds of foreign mercenaries arrive, alarming the deputies to the Assembly, who fear the king has decided to dissolve the body by force.

Soon threats lead to murder, and while courtiers frolic in the king’s pleasure gardens and deputies fear for their future, Paul must follow a clever, determined murderer through the dark corners of Versailles and deep into the fetid chambers of the Bastille, the sinister fortress that looms over Paris.

427 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2021

About the author

Laura Lebow holds a degree in European History from Brandeis University and a Master in City Planning from MIT. A long-time mystery reader and history buff, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Andy Oram · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not easy to blend the exciting story of a revolution with the suspense of a murder mystery, and Laura Lebow has done it well. Invest some time in this 400-page novel (it doesn't take long to read) and you get three paybacks: a tidy and puzzling mystery, a recreation of life during the final weeks of Louis XVI, and wealth of vivid writing about everyday life.

[Sarah Woodhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always looking for an original type of book to read and this definitely fits the bill. I am so thrilled that I won this book through Goodreads. I enjoyed it immensely and I also learned a lot. I absolutely adore books that I can learn from and enjoy at the same time.

I loved the mystery. I had an inkling who the murderer was but then thought no, that cannot be right. I love that the author so artfully put many twists and turns in that it causes you to second guess yourself.

I loved every single aspect of this book. I've found a wonderful new author to add to my list and I cannot wait for the next book.

I highly highly highly highly recommend! I cannot say that enough.

Just a completely wonderful book.