The Crypt Thief: A Hugo Marston Novel
The quest for a serial killer who robs graves is complicated by his first victims. The son of a U.S. senator and a Pakistani woman with a fake Egyptian passport are shot in a Paris cemetery, where the bones of a prominent dancer also are stolen. The Pakistani woman is linked to a man on terrorist watch lists, which raises fears of potential terrorism at the American embassy, although chief of security Hugo Marston, an ex–FBI profiler, finds it merely coincidental. With the primary terrorist threat being pursued by former CIA agent Tom Green, Marston works with French police captain Raul Garcia to hunt the killer they call Scarab and determine his motives. At the same time, Marston worries about Green’s heavy drinking, wondering whether he can trust his best friend and former colleague as he once did. This is a more assured narrative than Pryor’s debut (The Bookseller, 2012), with good character development, increasing levels of action and suspense, a complex and deranged antagonist, and—once again—appealing Paris settings. The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan’s watch list. --Michele Leber