Mute Witness — Charles O'Brien

A London vaudeville actress travels to Paris to investigate her stepfather's involvement in an alleged murder suicide in historical mystery series debut.

The years just prior to the French Revolution were filled with conflict, although many chose to ignore the signals of the coming storm. The Palais-Royal was the scene of much gaiety and a constant round of pleasures -- perfect cover for darker activities such as the murder of a Parisian actress. That same evening, her lover, Antoine Dubois, died in a fatal fall. Was his death a guilt-induced suicide?

Soon word of Antoine's death reaches his stepdaughter, Anne Cartier, a young vaudeville actress with the Sadler's Wells company in London. She enlists the aid of the messenger, Colonel Paul de Saint-Martin, and his adjutant, Georges Charpentier, to cross with her to France to investigate.

While in Paris, Anne, who is skilled in signing for the deaf, befriends Michou, a deaf, illiterate seamstress with a talent for puppetry. Michou gives Anne an entrée into the Palais-Royal, where her quest broadens to include an amateur theatrical society of dissolute young noblemen and several suspicious officials.

Hoping to learn more, Anne agrees to appear at a chateau to act the part of an exotic queen in Indian costume. But when priceless jewelry disappears and its owner, an aged count, is murdered, a venal police inspector threatens to derail Anne's whole project. . . .

Praise for Mute Witness 

“The bar for historical mysteries has just been raised, thanks to this masterly debut novel. . . . This is a truly wonderful first novel elegantly written, complex in both its characters and its plotting, and wearing the author's scholarship and erudition lightly. . . . This is great stuff; please, may we have more?” -- Publishers Weekly

“The plot is as circuitous as the streets of Paris, with something interesting lurking around every corner. The bold actress/teacher makes an intriguing heroine, and the pre-revolution period proves particularly hospitable as the backdrop for a mystery series. An auspicious debut.” -- Booklist