What a pleasure these Paris Homicide books are. The translations are so perfect that you wouldn’t realize you were reading a translation if you didn’t already know it. Anne Trager and her team at Le French Book are to be commended and encouraged to keep them coming. It is wonderful to be able to read these excellent books even if you cannot speak or read French. Most readers of this genre are familiar with the British and American, and these days, even the Australian or Canadian justice systems. But the French system is different, which is part of its charm.

The Paris Homicide books are French police procedurals. Nico Sirsky is the chief of the detective bureau, based in the Palais de Justice. He reports, not just to his own police superiors, but to the examining magistrate who is ultimately in charge of the case. So interesting.

In Looking to the Woods there are a number of murders which seem to be interconnected, making this a serial murder case. Far too often in books about serial murderers we get too much of the gloating of the murderer and not enough of the police procedural. Fortunately for us, that is not what happens in this book. The emphasis is on the police, mostly about the case, but a little bit about the private lives of the police officers. I hesitate to say much more about the plot as I hate spoilers, and I don’t want to give anything away.

This is the fourth of the Paris Homicide books, and it is just as good as the others which I have read. If you want a really entertaining and interesting read, this is the book for you.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for my honest opinion

How I do enjoy novels when there is a serial killer on the loose! A very fast paced book that kept you turning the pages. I haven't read the previous books in this series, but that didn't matter. I felt that this was one of those books that could be read as a stand alone. I am now eager to read more novels by this author.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers. This was my honest review.

My review can be seen on Amazon and Goodreads.

It was a very good mystery novel that had a few surprises in the middle . I recommend this book with a fine french wine.

This is the fourth book in the Nico Sirsky series and is translated from French. I have not read any of the previous books in this series but I was able to read this with no problems . Sometimes with books that have been translated they're hard to follow but this was done beautifully.

Brutal murders scarring the French landscape.

Chief of Police; Nico Sirsky is called to the site where the mutilated body of a young girl is found.

This is the first in a series of brutal murders, all replicating well-known serial killers. Nico and his team are faced with one of the most violent cases and it’s going to take all the resources of this crack Paris homicide team to find the perpetrator. The question that the team needs to answer: how many people are involved in committing these barbaric acts?

This is my second Frédérique Molay book featuring Nico Sirsky and his formidable team of detectives and their painstaking work to catch their suspects. I was struck in the first book by the detailed attention Frédérique Molay gives to her characters and to the intricate details making the cases more realistic. This book is possibly even more detailed and the information given on past serial murderers is meticulous, making reading the book even more exciting.

Nico Sirsky is not the run of the mill homicide detectives who have no life outside of their work. He is a family man with a beautiful partner and son and he spends every moment possible with them. His team are made up of equally vibrant and “real” characters and reading this second book cemented my connection to them as “friends”.

Obviously, the protagonists of the storyline are important, but Frédérique Molay manages to weave a web of the Paris landscape into the novel, making me more determined than ever to visit the city and attempt to see the place through French eyes.

My review would be sadly lacking if I didn’t acknowledge one of the most important aspects of the book: The exceptional translating skills of Anne Trager. We often overlook the talents that translators need to bring translate a story into English. It’s not a case of sitting down and simply translating (like we did at school) but the total commitment to ensure that the translation is so perfect that the reader doesn’t feel like they’ve been short-changed by not reading the book in its original format.

Frédérique Molay I’m looking forward to your next book and to Anne Trager’s skills in the translation.

Treebeard

Although I begin to feel that famous (+gorgeous) police chief Nico was not going to succeed in getting ahead of the serial killer - his reflections on the killer and the police procedural format works excellently and slick in this psychologically astute and sometimes grim story. They catch their man, or ... (not a woman, but ... I won't engage in a spoiler...) ... a clever criminal is stacking up murders all over Paris - and Nico is meanwhile worried there's a crisis with his own beloved., Caroline. And his son seems to have a serious distraction in his life. - but he thinks it's too early for him to have a girlfriend - so it's crisis time in all ways for the attractive central figure of Nico - with a Russian past and compelling looks, and a probing mind and great observational skills - this is another fabulous book by Molay who is a politician as well as a writer in her native France - excellent and absorbing.

I liked Looking to the Woods by Frederique Molay. I liked it very much.

#4 in the Paris Homicide series, it did not matter that I had not read any of the preceding books. I liked this one enough to want to go back and read the earlier volumes.

This is a very atmospheric book. I found myself reading with a French accent and substituting what few words I remember from my schoolgirl French lessons into the text. I was visualising Nico played by Daniel Auteuil.

There is a nice blend of police procedure and the main characters personal lives. There are plenty of twists and turns, and although I found the denouement quite unbelievable, I did not care. It was one hell of an enjoyable ride getting there!

<spoiler> Had the author actually revealed how the puppet master came to have all these young people under his control, I probably would have awarded it the fifth star. </spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for providing a digital ARC of Looking to the Woods by Frederique Molay for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Chief of Police Nick Sirsky and his team are on the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are so violent and gruesome I had a hard time reading the descriptions of the crime scenes, especially with the children. I had not read any of Ms. Molay's previous books in the series and even though there were aspects of this book that were quite interesting, I don't have the inclination to read her other books.
Nick and his team, plus other minor characters didn't feel fully fleshed out and after a while I had a hard time figuring out who was who. Nico's private life also felt superficial and didn't make me care at all.
On the other hand, the procedural scenes were interesting and the descriptions of the city of Paris very enjoyable. The chapters describing the different serial killers the murderer (s) emulated were morbidly fascinating, but I have to admit I am getting tired of the serial killer themes in books and will be avoiding them for the foreseeable future.
Thank you Netgalley and AmazonCrossing for the eARC.

I have read all of the books in this series and this one does not disappoint. Although the murder scenes are quite graphic it is not too over the top. The characters are easy to relate too and often the 'jump to conclusions' in novels can bee to far fetched - this one worked.
As usual the translation is excellent.

This is a complex murder mystery which opens with a horrific murder of a child. This is book 4 in the series and I have read and enjoyed the previous three books in the series. The head of the elite Paris Criminal Investigation Division, Nico Sirsky, is called to the scene. He works with his team to solve a series of murders, all of which are dismembered bodies. I was not sure who the killer was until near the end. If you prefer cozy mysteries, this book is not for you. However if you read James Patterson, you will probably like this book. I recommend that you read them in order if possible.

Unlike Patterson, which concentrates on a main character solving the crimes, these murders are solved by a team of police officers methodically looking for clues: fingerprints, DNA, fiber analysis, witness interviews, etc. Also unlike Patterson, this book is by a single author and is not as formulaic. The translation is excellent.
One quote: "The scene of those broken parents identifying Juliette's remains would be seared in Nico's mind forever, joining the cohort of images that he always carried around."
I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.