3 Review(s)

Americans in Paris... murder, slapstick and satire.Multimillionaire and philanthropist Hugo Weiss is known in every capital of the Western world as a munificent patron of the arts. When Weiss suddenly vanishes while on a visit to Paris, his disappearance sets the stage for this uncommonly witty and urbane mystery. Homer Evans, an intrepid American detective, turns his keen intellect and remarkable intuition toward solving the puzzle of the financier's disappearance. Assisted by his sharpshooting girlfriend, a cowgirl from the American West, Evans plunges into a maelstrom of kidnapping, art forgery, tax evasion, murder and a plot to restore the French monarchy. Set against the backdrop of bohemian Montparnasse, combining both comic romp and wit, the story whooshes along at a breathless pace with surprising good cheer, notwithstanding the mayhem and the rising body count. "It has the delicious irresponsibility of a Wodehouse plot. It's one of the funniest books we've read in a long time. It contains a great deal of shrewd satire." The New York Times