Brigade Criminelle is mobilised when a fatal stabbing, an anticipated delivery of lethal drugs from Marseilles, and the discovery of a thirty-year-old corpse in an ancient turreted tower in the town of Puyceldome coincide with a frantic search for two murderous hitchhikers all on Chief Inspector Pel's patch. As folk-dancers, stilt-walkers, fire-eaters, and jugglers lurch through a night of carnival, Pel stalks his prey. Moody, sharp-tongued and worrying constantly about his health, Inspector Pel ensures that no case goes unsolved, in these mordantly witty French mysteries. AUTHOR: Mark Hebden, who died in 1991, was one of the pen names of John Harris, author of The Sea Shall Not Have Them and Covenant with Death. He also wrote adventure stories under the name of Max Hennessy. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a sailor, an airman, a journalist, a travel courier and a history teacher. During World War II he served with two forces and two navies. Hebden is a master of his genre, and his writing is as timeless as it is versatile and entertaining.