Pel and the Faceless Corpse

Pel and the Faceless Corpse Synopsis

Irritable, dyspeptic Inspector Evariste Clovis Désiré Pel did not need another murder case added to his already Herculean workload, especially not this ghoulish business of a mutilated, headless corpse, the anonymous victim of a desperate and determined killer. Yet, if the murder was so deliberate, so well-planned, why was the identity of the dead man obscured?

Pel's investigation moves from Burgundy to the frontier and back again, stirring echoes of the horror and trauma of the War - and meeting a blank wall of non-cooperation so far as the murder is concerned. The trail is muddied by mistaken identities and ancient grievances, driving the chain-smoking Inspector close to distraction. Until, amid the cloud of acrid Gauloise smoke, Pel sees a ray of enlightenment and closes in with his inimitable savoir faire.

Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries.