I picked this one out because it takes place in occupied Paris in 1943 and the detectives are Jean-Louis St-Cyr a Paris detective and his partner, Hermann Kohler, veteran of WWI who’s disillusioned with the Nazis. They are hindered in their search for the Sandman (who has been killing young girls with a knitting needle and raping them) by the forces of the Occupier. Luckily, though, they are very good and the various authorities (The German Gestapo, The French Gestapo, the SS,) and always behind them. One of the best things about the book is the way the author makes you feel the weather—it’s January of what was a particularly cold winter in Europe. Most people had no heat, little food, and not enough layers of clothing to keep them warm. But all things considered this isn’t a great mystery. It’s not terribly hard to figure out “who done it” though the book goes through 6 or 7 suspects, all with unsavory stories. It’s a fast moving case—the action takes only a few days during which the detectives don’t get any rest and little food and a child is out there somewhere trying to avoid capture because she knows who the Sandman is. Still, though, the novel drags. Don’t see how it was one of the New York Times notable books (which is why I tired it). Though it may be that I didn't read it quickly enough. ( )