Book is textbook size - 6 x 9 inches - with a glossy cover.
Why is Paris burning? For money – a lot of it, more than you can possibly imagine.
A serial arsonist killer is loose and American Interpol agent Nicki Foster fights to stop him. Hideous arsons are murdering fire crews and Nicki finds there is a dark logic behind the crimes. To stay alive, Nicki and Fire Captain Paul Denis race to solve a puzzle leading to an immense fortune. Lose the race and a flashover fire will burn them alive, leaving only an x-ray of their bones behind.
Nicki Foster is an American from New York City living in a studio apartment in the old Parisian artist colony of Montmartre. From her tiny one-room studio, she has a cherished view of the last remaining vineyard in Paris, a relic of the time when the great Impressionists lived and painted in Montmartre because it was cheap, a rural farming community on the outskirts of the bustling metropolitan city.
The last vineyard in Paris - a relic of the time when
the great Impressionist painters lived in Montmartre
Nicki’s ambition is to spend all her free time exploring the world of art, but she seldom gets the chance. She’s worked her way up from the bottom at Interpol to become a field agent, earn a decent if not great salary and get a little respect.
Interpol Headquarters in Lyon, France
Last year she helped the Paris Police, the Surete, crack an old crime and it got her the long awaited promotion to full agent. But it also brought her the hatred of a rich and powerful man now determined to crush her. City Commissioner Alain Vernier has plans for how Nicki Foster will spend her next few days, running for her life with no chance of winning.
Fire Captain Paul Denis is an odd mixture, part good guy rushing to fire scenes and rescuing people, and part street-smart gang member. He used to “borrow” trucks on their way to a distribution center and sell the goods on a street corner for quick cash. When asked how he went straight, he says he has to be a little drunk to tell the story right and changes the subject. He spends his free time turning an old machine shop into a beautiful SoHo-like loft with skylights, polished hardwood floors and French doors opening onto a garden. His pet project is his library, since he only learned to read a few years ago. But all that’s on hold for now. Someone is murdering fire crews arriving at a blaze and Paul Denis is teaming with Nicki Foster to stop it.
© 2008 Un-Tied Artists
Fire Captain Paul Denis fighting a blaze
Nicki’s partner at Interpol, Pierre Corday appears to be safe, fatherly, an accountant-type. But appearances are deceiving. Corday is always looking out for himself, checking how he can profit from a situation – and City Commissioner Vernier is spending very freely right now. Corday is a complex character, proud of his integrity yet bending to the practical nature of the world with its rich and powerful interests. He’s seen it all, first as a cop on the beat in Paris and then at Interpol, where he transferred to escape an old case that still haunts him. When he takes Nicki out for a drink and tells her about that old case, beware. Things are changing and not for the better.
Nicki's partner takes her out for a drink, to give her some “fatherly” advice.
City Commissioner Vernier has it all, well almost. A penthouse on the Avenue Foch near the Arc du Triomphe, a 22nd floor office with floor to ceiling windows showcasing the Eiffel Tower,
The view from Alain Vernier’s office
a great deal of money hidden away that even Pierre Corday can’t find. So why bother to hassle Nicki Foster? And why does Alain Vernier think that when these arsons are through, he’ll never have to do favors for his rich backers again, that they’ll be doing favors for him? Everywhere Nicki turns, Vernier has been there first. It’s a perfect plan. But in every perfect plan, there’s a wildcard, a person who misbehaves and does the unpredictable. Nicki has to find this person and keep them alive. Vernier is determined to use all his power, including the police, to kill both Nicki and the fool who turned on City Commissioner Vernier.
According to Nicki, “Paris is a mood that touches everyone who stops at a sidewalk cafe and experiences how intimate each little nook of a huge, anonymous city can feel. Every block is its own world, with shops and restaurants that are tiny by American standards, barely larger than a bedroom. There’s always a bistro anchoring the end of the block, where seven generations have bought their tobacco and leaned their elbows on the same zinc bar to drink a beer at day’s end, before climbing several flights of stairs to a small flat they call home.
There’s always a bistro anchoring the end of the block ...
The city is a paradox of tradition and energy where you always feel something unexpected is going to happen.” But like every big city, Paris has another side tourists never see and you’re going to explore it with Nicki and Paul Denis. Just be sure to leave a lot of lights on and lock the door tight. Then pour that cup of hot cocoa and settle in for the night. A flashover fire is about to melt your skin and bones right into the pavement so only an x-ray of you is left behind.
Click below to read the opening chapters of Trap.
See how Alain Vernier thinks, then go
with Nicki Foster to the crime scene
and meet Paul Denis.