After I read The Dollmaker (see here), I ordered the first book in the series and plan to read the rest in order. I enjoy the interplay between the two detectives, Jean-Louis St-Cyr of the Sûretè and Hermann Kohler of the Gestapo. Mayhem is set in the countryside of France in 1942. Both Kohler and St-Cyr are veterans of The Great War and neither is happy about the second war, but both are loyal to their respective countries. In this story, the two of them spend most of their time reporting to three German generals, the Gestapo, the Sûretè commander, and two district commanders, not to mention daily written reports to Himmler in Berlin. No wonder it takes them more than their allotted two days to solve the case.

The good news for St-Cyr is that Kohler is Gestapo in name only, and is willing to use it to get results, but he is a true detective and they match skill-sets well enough to get results.

J. Robert Janes is Canadian and is able to recreate a wonderfully rich wartime France as well as a story line loaded with sub plots, twists, and scares. He has my vote as one of the best mystery writers working today.

Mike Lawrence