Hooded men have broken open the hold of a plane full of passengers at the local airport, and have stolen cargo described as perfume samples. Nothing else has been touched.

Pel is suspicious. If the cargo was really perfume samples, why was it described as looking like a sack of potatoes, and why was it so heavy? There seems to be no love lost between those affected and Pel begins to wonder whether past events might hold the key…

Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries.

PRAISE FOR THE INSPECTOR PEL SERIES:

'Pel and his procedurals are some of the best things since Maigret' Observer

‘Totally convincing’ Financial Times

‘Mr Hebden has created a nice band of flics’ Oxford Times

‘Chief Inspector Evariste Clovis Désiré Pel, as well rounded a character as Maigret or Van der Valk’ Punch

‘Impeccable French ambience, unexaggerated flics, and a well-constructed solution. Hebden proves again that few understand Gallic cops better than English writers!’ The Times

‘Some characters grow as their saga lengthens and Pel… is one of them. You might say he is ripening along with the grapes’ Police Review

‘…written with downbeat humour and some delightful dialogue’ Financial Times

‘…all is most cunningly contrived and dovetailed into a coherent plot’ Irish Times

‘A thoroughly entertaining read’ Evening Standard

‘The best Gallic sleuth since Maigret’ London Mystery Selection

After the death of her father, Mark Hebden, creator of the quirky French detective Inspector Pel novels, Juliet Hebden took over the mantle of crime writer and has completed 8 more books in the series. In addition to writing, Juliet is a mother of six children and lives in France.