Inspector Henri Lefort

Series · 3 books · 2022-2024

By Mark Pryor

Books in series

Die Around Sundown

2022

Mark Pryor's Die Around Sundown is the first entry in an exciting mystery series set in Paris during World War II, where a detective is forced to solve a murder while protecting his own secrets. Summer 1940: In German-occupied Paris, Inspector Henri Lefort has been given just five days to solve the murder of a German major that took place in the Louvre Museum. Blocked from the crime scene but given a list of suspects, Henri encounters a group of artists, including Pablo Picasso, who know more than they're willing to share. With the clock ticking, Henri must uncover a web of lies while overcoming impossible odds to save his own life and prove his loyalty to his country. Will he rise to the task or become another tragic story of a tragic time? Five days. One murder. A masterpiece of a mystery.

The Dark Edge of Night

2023

“Sharp eyed and sharp mouthed police detective”\* Henri Lefort, is determined to solve homicides and uncover any German conspiracies threatening France―in Mark Pryor’s newest World War II mystery, The Dark Edge of Night . Winter 1940: With soldiers parading down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Nazi flags dangling from the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower defaced with German propaganda, Parisians have little to celebrate as Christmas approaches. Police Inspector Henri Lefort’s wishes for a quiet holiday season are dashed when the Gestapo orders him to investigate the disappearance of Dr. Viktor Brandt, a neurologist involved in a secret project at one of Paris’s hospitals. Being forced onto a missing persons case for the enemy doesn’t deter Henri from conducting his real job. A Frenchman has been beaten to death in what appears to be a botched burglary, and catching a killer is more important than locating a wayward scientist. But when Henri learns that the victim’s brother is a doctor who worked at the same hospital as the missing German, his investigation takes a disturbing turn. Uncovering a relationship between the two men―one that would not be tolerated by the Third Reich―Henri must tread carefully. And when he discovers that Dr. Brandt’s experimental work is connected to groups of children being taken from orphanages, Henri risks bringing the wrath of both the SS and the Gestapo upon himself and everyone he loves. \* New York Times bestselling author Cara Black

A Blood Red Morning

2024

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.

Author

Mark Pryor

Author · 15 books

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' 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' 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."