THE CRIMES OF PARIS
by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler---Reviewed by Cara Black

THE CRIMES OF PARIS, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, details Parisian crime and detection in the early 20th century,centering around one of the greatest heists of all time - the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911.

Imagine stepping into the Belle Epoque era of Baron Haussmann’s reconfigured Paris with broad tree lined boulevards and newly discovered electricity transformed Paris into the City of Light the first in the world.
   
The Mona Lisa’s disappearance, the ultimate caper, a crime ‘extraordinaire’ of the most valuable painting in the world was quite simple.  And once stolen,' she' La Gioconda as the French called her, disappeared for a year.

The investigation, characters involved, and the times tinged by humor and human foibles paint a history of the dark corners, the criminals, and burgeoning crime forensics as we know it today.

The Crimes of Paris is a fascinating account and reads like a historical thriller.
    We’re plunged into the last days of the decadent Third Republic; the mistresses, the bungling of the Suréte in this ‘parfait’ crime. The aristocratic and not so aristocratic thieves. Brothels and cafe-concerts thrived.

So did the Moulin Rouge where a short man rumored to be a count went by the name Toulouse Lautrec sitting by the gaslights and Alphonse Bertillon a detective renowned for pioneering crime scene investigation techniques had something to prove after the bungling of the Dreyfus affair.

An engrossing tale of a city vibrant with artists - even a young Picasso was peripherally involved in the theft - poets, anarchists, aristocrats and street thieves, Belle Epoque scandals and the pioneers of crime detection. Delectable, dark, compelling and intriguing. Highly recommended.

Find out more about the tour with Cara Black