I received an ARC of Die After Sundown by Mark Pryor in exchange for an honest review.

A murder mystery set in Paris after the German occupation during WWII. French Inspector Henri Lefort has been given an almost impossible task: solve the murder of a German officer that took place in the Louvre. Henri is given a list of suspects and five days to complete this case but not allowed to investigate the crime scene. Henri must uncover the truth in order to save his own life but with the truth comes all of his own secrets.

This novel keeps you on your toes at every turn. Henri is both snarky and relatable and the twisting plot keeps the reader engaged throughout. There were a few plot holes, but I’m certain they were left unanswered purposefully to set up a sequel. This is an exciting book about family, loyalty, and healing and what that looks like in war-torn Paris.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. The story was engaging and different from what I normally read. I would recommend this to crime-junkies and mystery aficionados. 3.5/5 stars.

This book was amazing!! I really enjoyed following the main character & all of the things that he was enduring. I laughed out loud sooo many times throughout this story & I genuinely cared about the outcome. But that PLOT TWIST, I did not see coming!!! 5+++ stars

I was very pleased with this author's first book in his upcoming series, as this is a genre and time setting that particularly appeals to me. WWII policing in France is a bit of a joke after Germany successfully invades, and Nazis frequently break the rules they made! They kill, lie, rob, plunder, and expect the local French police to ignor what they are doing, or worse yet, find a non-Nazi scapegoat to take the blame. The mood of the time, right after the invasion, sets the stage for an interesting police case, and the who-dunit will likely surprise you! I can't wait to read more in this series.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher of Die Around Sundown for sending me the ebook ARC of this book.

This book has everything! It's not only great to read, but it covers an experience during WW1, the taking of Paris by the Nazi's and the way her citizens rebel, a murder that must be solved by the main character or he will be killed. Not only these incidents, but the murder takes place in the Louvre, so of course art is involved!
I loved reading this book because of the characters' relationships, the scenes and walks through Paris and the great atmospheric writing.
Thank you for writing this book and please think about including Henri in another.

I love a mystery set in Paris and this doesn’t disappoint. Takes place during the 1940s Inspector Lefort must solve a murder that took place at the Louvre. With an appearance by Picasso I loved the history and the mystery of this one. A page turner

The misophonic detective.

A Paris detective in 1940, during the occupation, must find the murderer of a German SS Officer or face severe consequences, i.e. a firing squad. Die Around Sundown is a fast moving mystery during which Henri Lefort, the detective, turns over one surprise after another on his way to a stunning discovery of the identity of the perpetrator. For success, he must not only be clever but must also endure the distractions of crunching celery, fingernails tapping on a wine glass, gum chewing, and a secret from his past that haunts him.

Mark Pryor has a straightforward and engaging style that makes his stories compelling. A reader isn’t obliged to wade through bombastic prose that distracts from the tight plots from which his mysteries develop. Readers of Pryor’s Hugh Marston novels will be thrilled to learn that Die Around Sundown is as thrilling as The Bookseller and its sequels. And Pryor’s writing has evolved to a higher plane; his protagonist in Die Around Sundown, Henri Lefort, is a more complex character than Hugh Marston. Lefort has a troubled past. He has made mistakes, and is full of enough guilt and anxiety that he makes an easy candidate for a psychotherapists couch. This brings a depth to the novel that is literary, putting Pryor into the good company of writers like Joseph Kanon. Lefort is certainly a literary character commensurate with Martin Keller in Kanon’s recently published The Berlin Exchange. Readers of Die Around Sundown will remember Henri Lefort and the story’s other characters as well as they will remember the novel’s brilliantly plotted ending.

In Die Around Sundown, Pryor has further honed his skills as a master of dialogue. His characters’ interactions are never a distraction from the plot, which is so complicated as to involve murders decades apart. In a scene near the end of the story, Lefort is asked whether with respect to one crime, “ . . . you feel all right looking the other way?” And Lefort responds, “I’m not . . . I’m looking right at it . . . I rather like the irony.” The interaction demonstrates that Lefort is a multi-dimensional character, not just a detective who judges everything as right or wrong. And it is the gateway to an observation by Lefort concerning his service in the trenches in World War I: “Ironic, then, that the moments of actual peace, of real respite, in this awful blood-soaked war would come at sundown, both sides tired of raining bombs and bullets on each other all day, grateful for that still beautiful moment when the blood stopped flowing and the only red we saw spread itself across the horizon as a signal that we managed to live a little longer.” There is a magnificent coupling of the trenches in the first world war and the German occupation in Paris in the second world war, both of them horrendous in their own ways, and a fitting basis for the novel’s title.

There are two stories in Die Around Sundown that Pryor carefully melds together. As suggested earlier, the novel contains a backstory that takes place during Lefort’s experience in the first world war. The two stories move in tandem toward two stunning outcomes, all brought together in the novel’s final pages. The imagery used by Pryor is extraordinary. He describes how the Nazi occupation of Paris had “sucked the vitality out of Paris herself, left behind like an abandoned woman – still beautiful, but sullen without that which fleshed out her spirit.” And there is a well in no man’s land between the trenches years before; Lefort observes that an “Image of gray, rotting and water-logged flesh hung in my mind like a ghastly tapestry, slowing rippling in the breeze like something alive.”

Henri Lefort has his demons, what one would expect for a man surviving such perilous times. A reader should not be surprised that Mark Pryor is an Assistant District Attorney. He has many years of experience looking into crime. Perhaps it is that career that has made him such an astute observer of the human condition. Henri is a nuanced character, highly developed from a mix of small foibles and dark regret for past actions. He knows that small occurrences annoy him. A woman’s fingernail clicking on a wine glass is for him like shards of a broken bottle poking into his brain stem. More serious are the nightmarish memories of the death of his brother. So the careful reader isn’t surprised that Henri has the perspective to see that, “Life and decency were cheapened by war, and if a group of patriots had killed a traitor, either to help France through this war or just so they could survive another day, I was able to leave it at that.” This makes him a detective who understands that in some cases a crime has a place. A reader can only hope that Henri will soon start work on his next case.

Set in WWII Paris, Detective Henri has one week to solve a murder, the murder of a Nazi. Killed in the Louvre but not allowed to enter and investigate, Henri must figure out who the true killer is, all while learning more about the people around him, and keeping a few secrets of his own. Woven together with stories of his own time in the trenches of WWI, this book is a mix of a murder mystery and a historical fiction war novel.
I thought this book was well-written, if not a bit slow at times. But the plot was engaging and I liked all the twists and turns along the way.

***** Spoiler Alerts*****
I am a huge fan of Marrk Pryor’s other books. I especially enjoy the Hugo Marston stories. This latest book is a radical departure from his earlier books. It is also set in Paris but it is 1940 and the city has been conquered by the German Third Reich. Germans are everywhere and looting the city of everything that they can get their hands on. When Paris Inspector Henri Lefort is tasked with first a robbery at Napoleon’s Great Great Granddaughter and a murder of a German Army Officer in the Louvre. Things begin to heat up. Henri who is a WW I veteran does not like having to help the invaders and does so grudgingly. Worse yet he is given a one-week deadline to solve the case or face his own execution. As he goes about solving the murder. Details of his personal life during his time in WWI come to light and we are shown how it shapes his investigation.

Like all Mr. Pryor’s other novels, Justice triumphs, and the murder is solved. However, there are two glaring plot lines that are left unexplained or hanging. First is the robbery of Napoleon’s Great Great Granddaughter Mimi’s apartment and the abrupt ending of the book, leaving the outcome of his psychiatric sessions with Napoleon’s Great Great Granddaughter completely ignored.

All In all, this is not a bad book but it is not a very good one either

This was my first reading of a novel by Mark Pryor.
It is very rare that I will give a 5 star rating, but this book is worth every star. Engaging from the very beginning,
well written and a real page turner.
Henri Lefort is a police detective in Paris. It is 1940 and the German army has taken over the city. Lefort is tasked with finding the killer of a German soldier who was overseeing the removal of artworks from the Louvre.
Many twists and turns will take you to the solving of this intriguing mystery.
If you are a fan of historical fiction, mystery and intrigue, I highly recommend this novel.

Whatever I thought that this book was going to be like when I started reading it - it was so much better.
This story has a really slow and steady plot pace and feels almost like a vintage detective story. Which could perhaps be attributed to both the setting of the story and the writing of it as well.
One thing was was really interesting to me during both the requesting and the reading of this book is how the author uses the setting (Paris at the start of Nazi occupation) to define the era and the plot, but it did not overpower it. We as the reader see what is happening through the eyes of the main character and this setting adds to all the characters and their dynamics with each other and the plot.
There are a few different plot lines throughout the story that connect to the main character in such a fun and interesting way. The twists that pop up in the story just come on one after another and really leave the reader wondering if they could have ever seen that coming.
Honestly one of my favorite mystery books that I have read this year.

I love this author. So I started with an opinion about this already. I am so excited about this new series.

This takes place in Paris in 1940. So, the Germans have taken over the city. The main character, Henri, has a wonderfully complex back story. He is tasked with solving a murder of a German agent. The threats inherent in this "request" are fairly obvious. So how is Henri going to get out of this mess he has managed to step into? And this gets extra points for using Picasso as one of the characters.

I am so excited to see where this new series is going to go. The worst part is having to wait for the next installment.

Paris Detective, Henri Lefort, becomes entangled in secrets from his past, while investigating i a murder in the Louvre. To complicate matters, the victim is a German soldier, who had a Picasso drawing hidden in a secret pocket of his clothing.

The storyline travels back and forth between Lefort’s experience in World War I , as a soldier, and 1940’s Paris, France, under Nazi occupation. The Germans have been just begun “moving” artwork from France to the control of the Reich and Lefort has been charged with solving the crime, while “side stepping” around the Nazis at every turn. Set in the Six Arrondissement, Paris lovers will enjoy wandering through those familiar streets as Henri sets out to solve the crime, help friends evade the Germans and let us in on his family secrets, with the help of some “time on the therapist’s couch”.

Without giving away the “twists” in Lefort’s private life, readers should enjoy how Pablo Picasso figures into the plot. The story follows a number of enjoyable characters including Mimi Bonaparte(yes, that Bonaparte) and Henri’s able assistant at the Prefecture, Nicola. Since this is the beginning of a “series” involving Henri Lefort, we can expect more crime-solving ahead from Henri, and his friends, and colleagues. I enjoy books with a rapidly moving storyline, great setting and many likable characters. Mark Pryor hit a home run for me on all three fronts! Thank you, to NetGalley, for an advance copy of this novel!

In a new mystery series Mark Pryor introduces Inspector Henri LeFort in “Die Around Sundown,” My prediction is that Pryor will have a hit on his hands. This book is set in occupied Paris, France during World War II.

There has been a murder in the Louvre and the occupying Nazis have given LeFort a week to solve the murder or face the consequences –which will be his execution! To add to the intrigue, the inspector is forbidden to see the murder scene or to talk to everyone involved. These roadblocks seriously cramp his investigation.

The German major in charge has provided the inspector with a list of suspects who might possibly have committed the crime. Something is not sitting right with Henri as it seems that he is being set up to take a fall for not solving the crime. Some of the “suspects” could have committed the crime, including one who is dead by other means.

Does Inspector LeFort take the easy way and point the finger at the dead suspect or does he persevere against seemingly huge odds instilling himself in the art scene of occupied Paris in order to actually solve the crime? On the way to decide, he meets interesting individuals in the art scene including Pablo Picasso!

The ending is unexpected and allows LeFort to solve some of his personal, long running psychological issues at the same time as finding the murderer. A delightful read and one that opens a whole new series to look forward to reading.

Pryor put together a very enjoyable read. Does a wonderful job building the story with twists and turns along the way.

I'm a huge fan of Mark Prior and this latest series just reinforces that fandom. I'm not usually one for World War Ii-era historical fiction, but I found newly-occupied Paris to be a wonderful setting that offered tremendous opportunities for conflict in a way that suited rather than distracted from the overlaid story.

One of Pryor's particular strengths is characterization, and he has once again nailed that aspect of the story. His characters leap off the page, as do his descriptions of setting in terms of both time and place. The struggle between occupied and occupier, particularly at the ground-floor individual soldier level, added a wonderful layer of moral ambiguity to the story that I found really added depth and breadth. I also enjoyed his blending of actual historical figures with his own characters, it sent me on a furious Google search to learn more...

I already cannot wait to see where the series goes next!

I enjoyed the setting in this book…liked trying to solve the mystery…murder and mayhem…enjoy this one…the story moves slowly at times, but the author gets us to the ending…this book was sent to me by Netgalley for review.

First, my thanks to net galley an the publishers, St. Martin's/Minotaur, for the ARC of this excellent book. I don't give ratings of five stars lightly, but this is a read five star reading experience. It takes place in 1940, shortly after the Nazi occupation of Paris. I have read other very good books about the French Resistance, but this is more complicated and difficult to characterize. It is part police procedural, part mystery, part thriller. I will not go into detail so there are no spoilers here, but it is the first in a new series about Paris detective Henri Lefort. He is forced by the Nazi occupiers to solve the murder of a German officer and is given a deadline of one week to do so. It is clear that his life is on the line if he does not meet the deadline. As we learn more about Henri, we learn that he is also burdened by some terrible secrets of his own that he cannot reveal concerning his own time fighting in the First World War. I freely admit that my own chores often went undone as I rapidly turned the pages. The characters are expertly drawn and the element of horror and danger was present on every page even as dark humor sometimes surfaced. The deneument contained multiple shocking surprises and I had not guessed whodunit. No cliffhangers here, either. It was as close to perfect as it could be and I absolutely loved it. I cannot praise it enough. Unfortunately for would-be readers, it will not be available until August of 2022. Meanwhile I will be looking for this author's previous works and planning ahead to read the next in the series.

Henri Lefort is a police detective in Paris. It is 1940 and the German army has taken over the city. After saving the life of Princess Marie Bonaparte from an armed burglar, Lefort is tasked with finding the killer of a German soldier who was overseeing the removal of artworks from the Louvre. Sturmbannfuhrer Ludwig Vogel gives him a list of local suspects, forbids him entrance to the Louvre to view the crime scene and makes it very clear Lefort will solve the case or face dire consequences. Hitler plans to visit the city at the end of the week, so the clock is ticking down for Lefort to catch the killer, seemingly with his hands tied behind his back.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book with its quirky cast of characters, including Pablo Piccasso. The dialog is smart, tense and at times full of black humor as the Parisians mourn all that they have lost since the war began and the Germans arrived. Pryor writes a very atmospheric description of occupied Paris and the hardships that everyone was dealing with. He also describes the horrors of the trenches in WWI as Lefort shares with Princess Bonaparte a tragic time in his past. I would highly recommend this mystery and I hope to read more about Lefort in what the author plans as a series.

Loved it! Die Around Sundown is the first of a new series by Mark Pryor. Henri Lefort is a WWI veteran, and now a detective in 1940's Paris. In this new novel, the occupying Germans have given him 5 days to solve a murder. This is not just a murder mystery, it's also an excellent look at WWII Paris under the boot of the Germans - the everyday terror, humiliations, and loss of so many emotional and physical things. I loved the way Henri fights on to do the right thing, and his somewhat bitter humor adds a delicious edge to the story. Great story, great characters, great everything - I will be watching for the next book in this series. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / Minotaur for the e-arc. 4.5 stars!

Mark Pryor has an excellent job with Die Around Sundown. The characters are fantastic and believable, the story line is as well. I really enjoyed this and look forward to his next book