Alain Dodier

The youthful private-eye-in-training returns. This time he's off tothe French countryside, eager to solve his first real case. Unfortunately,he's more Clouseau than Spade. Jerome gets his first true case whenhe receives an emergency summons from the Baron de Verville, who claims his lifeis in danger. When Jerome arrives at the Baron's villa, however, hisclient is nowhere to be found, and the young detective is told to return home. As if that weren't suspicious enough, his doubts grow when he meets thevilla's other occupants, which include the Baron's two adultchildren, who don't seem the least concerned about their father'sdisappearance. The gothic architecture, secret passages, hidden closets, andsuspicious characters are the perfect ingredients for murder. It's likesomething out of a board game, and Jerome K. Jerome Bloche is right in themiddle of it. Presented for the first time in English.