AND ONE FOR THE DEAD

Yet another page from the casebook of M. Pinaud, self-adoring superman of the Paris SûretÉ. In this remembered episode, Pinaud's cold and haughty supervisor--M, le Chef--finds a housemaid murdered in his bed while his wife is away from their country mansion. . . and is promptly clapped in jail by the local police. So Pinaud must find the true culprit--which he does by questioning le Chef's inner circle: old chauffeur-gardener Boyard (who's convinced that le Chef is responsible for his granddaughter's suicide); le Chef's young, aristocratic wife Lorette (much attracted to Pinaud, who can scarcely keep his hands off her); and M. Poidevin, a shady ex-SûretÉ neighbor. And before Pinaud bares the evil corrupting forces aimed at the SûretÉ itself, he takes a beating and spends a night in jail. With less padding than usual, more action and a more vulnerable Pinaud--the best of his recent adventures.