La Mort en guenilles

Death in Rags

It has been weeks since Vincent Pergotti, a little chimney sweep from Savoie, has disappeared. So his mother asks Séraphine, the errand-girl in the Roquebère office, to help her find him. Soon the young girl suspects a mysterious beggarwoman in rags, called Goldy, of having played a key role in Pergotti's disappearance.
Ignoring the advice of her employers, but sometimes provoking the anger of Parturon the police officer, Séraphine becomes fascinated by this mystery where the hesitant creations of Nicéphore Niepce, the inventor of photography, turn out to be very useful and revealing.

Born in the Camargue, France in 1928, G. -J. Arnaud is nowadays considered as one of the great popular writers of our time, a worthy descendant of the great serial writers. He has not stopped writing since 1952 when he was awarded the Quai des Orfèvres Prize for Ne tirez pas sur l'inspecteur (Don't Shoot the Inspector). In nearly 400 novels he has employed all the variations and facets of 20th century popular literature: detective novels, spy thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, historical, adventure, war, and erotic; often written under pseudonyms. In the series Paris, 1830: Hyacinthe et Narcisse Roquebère enquêtent... (Paris 1830: Hyacinthe and Narcisse Roquebère investigate...), G. -J. Arnaud writes gripping stories in the classical vein of historical thrillers, that are at the same time a wonderful homage to Balzac.