Rights have been sold to Maeva Ediciones in Spain.

A translation sample is available.

Set in early 20th-century Paris, this mystery novel by prize-winning crime writer Bertrand Puard, brings famous French painters and novelists back to life in an intriguing tale where the worlds of art and crime collide.

June 4, 1908: the remains of Émile Zola are being transferred from Montmartre cemetery to the Panthéon. Throngs of people have come to pay homage to Zola for the last time. Once the crowds are gone, an old man emerges from the shadows to place a package at the steps of the monument. This mysterious object is discovered by impoverished puppeteer Hubert, who happens to be passing by. He can hardly believe his good fortune when he realizes what has landed in his possession: a previously unknown original painting of Zola by the recently deceased Paul Cézanne. Meanwhile, a few streets away from where the painting is found, a murder is committed in a restaurant.

A young writer named Lalie has begun to write a biographical novel about Paul Cézanne. Lalie becomes involved in the murder investigation when her lover, the young Paul Cézanne, son of the famous painter, is nowhere to be found. It soon becomes evident that all these events are linked. We follow Lalie through the streets of Bohemian Paris, sit with her in a café with the likes of Matisse and Picasso as she seeks clues to the mystery of the murder, and of her lover’s disappearance.