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The Cavalier of the Apocalypse (Aristide Ravel #1)
by
Susanne Alleyn (Goodreads Author)
A murdered man is found in a Parisian cemetery in 1786, where struggling writer Aristide Ravel recognizes the strange symbols surrounding the body to be Masonic.
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
July 21st 2009
by St. Martin's Minotaur
(first published 2009)
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Rating: 4.25* of five
Wow. In the third in her Aristide Ravel, police spy, mysteries set in Revolutionary Paris, Alleyyn actually takes us to 1786, ten years before the first book ("Game of Patience") is set. It is the dying spasm of the ancien regime, the time when the royal government's incompetence and the royal family's political tin ear reached the simultaneous peak of their rise to intolerability. The plot revolves around Aristide's informal induction into the ranks of p...more
Wow. In the third in her Aristide Ravel, police spy, mysteries set in Revolutionary Paris, Alleyyn actually takes us to 1786, ten years before the first book ("Game of Patience") is set. It is the dying spasm of the ancien regime, the time when the royal government's incompetence and the royal family's political tin ear reached the simultaneous peak of their rise to intolerability. The plot revolves around Aristide's informal induction into the ranks of p...more
LJ
rated it
First Sentence: Aristide Ravel stumbled upon the first fire early on All Hallows’ Eve.
Aristide Revel is a penniless writer who never expects to come across the body of a man lying in the snow of a graveyard with his throat slit and the body marked with Masonic symbols. Police inspector Brasseur, Revel’s former neighbor, quickly recognizes that he is not a suspect in the killing, but quickly makes Revel a subinspector to help solve the crime.
Although this is the most rece...more
Aristide Revel is a penniless writer who never expects to come across the body of a man lying in the snow of a graveyard with his throat slit and the body marked with Masonic symbols. Police inspector Brasseur, Revel’s former neighbor, quickly recognizes that he is not a suspect in the killing, but quickly makes Revel a subinspector to help solve the crime.
Although this is the most rece...more
Rating:*****
Susanne Alleyn has written a third riveting, well-plotted mystery starring
Aristide Ravel, this one set in Paris shortly before the French Revolution and
I think it is definitely the best yet in the series! For you folks who have not
yet discovered this talented author, and who like to read a series “from the beginning”,
you have the rare chance to begin with “The Cavalier..”, as it is a prequel to
the two prior books featuring Aristide Ravel and gives...more
Susanne Alleyn has written a third riveting, well-plotted mystery starring
Aristide Ravel, this one set in Paris shortly before the French Revolution and
I think it is definitely the best yet in the series! For you folks who have not
yet discovered this talented author, and who like to read a series “from the beginning”,
you have the rare chance to begin with “The Cavalier..”, as it is a prequel to
the two prior books featuring Aristide Ravel and gives...more
I finished this today and although it was a good story I am not overly enthusiastic about it. Ravel is the main character and is a struggling writer of seditious political pamphlets. This was not really interesting to me to read about, but luckily Ravel was quickly pulled into the investigation of a murder. Police inspector Brasseur questions Ravel first as a suspect, but quickly rules him out. However, Ravel's thoughts on the crime scene impress Brasseur and he presses Ravel into service as...more
This is the third book in a series, but this is the prequel. I debated on giving this three stars. I didn't "NOT like" this book, but it'sn ot one that made me think, because I had the plot half figured out in the beggining. That was dissapointing. I was a little bored, it did however in the good parts remind me in a way of Dan Brown's writings, just a little. My biggest complaint is that I didn't feel connected to the main charachter. Maybe because this is the 3rd in the series th...more
This was a very interesting book; it combines bits of social, political, and religious life of pre-revolutionary France. It is a actually a prequel to 2 of Alleyn's other works (which I will add to my 'to read' list soon). This historical mystery features a struggling writer who (almost accidentally) finds himself in the employ of the local police (not necessarily a good thing to be in France at that time) to help solve a particularly brutal murder. The Freemasons play a role (shades of Dan Brow...more
Given my enjoyment of A Far Better Rest, Susanne Alleyn's novel based on A Tale of Two Citiesby Dickens, I expected a great deal of this prequel to her mystery series.
It was OK. I found it slow and overly expository at the outset. I wasn't that impressed by the Freemasonry content.
It was OK. I found it slow and overly expository at the outset. I wasn't that impressed by the Freemasonry content.
An inviting story to open the series!
Admittedly, "inviting" is probably a poor word to use to describe a tale of multiple murders in pre-Revolutionary Paris. But Alleyn builds the characters and relationships in this story such that there is a very personal attachment, especially to Ravel-- he is a highly endearing man, even if some of his habits and activities are less than reputable.
I think I was expecting the story to get a little more meaty into the politic...more
Admittedly, "inviting" is probably a poor word to use to describe a tale of multiple murders in pre-Revolutionary Paris. But Alleyn builds the characters and relationships in this story such that there is a very personal attachment, especially to Ravel-- he is a highly endearing man, even if some of his habits and activities are less than reputable.
I think I was expecting the story to get a little more meaty into the politic...more
This is prequel to 2 other books. I'm glad I stumbled across this in my travels through the library as I probably wouldn't have chosen it from a review or a cruise through Amazon, etc. It's a very good absorbing story that is set in the time before the French Revolution and involves Masons, murder, infidelity, and politics.
Storyline was good, as well as the characters.
Found the description of the city very annoying in the first
chapters. Didn't nned to know the names opf streets in Paris, which no longer exisrt Amap printed at the beginning of the book would have done the job.
Found the description of the city very annoying in the first
chapters. Didn't nned to know the names opf streets in Paris, which no longer exisrt Amap printed at the beginning of the book would have done the job.
Another wonderful installment in the Aristide Ravel canon!
(Actually, if you are about to begin the series, start with this book, which introduces Ravel and his relationship with the police that figures prominently in the rest of the series.)
CAVALIER offers an intriguing mystery with a satisfying ending, all set against the historic backdrop of unsettled times in pre-revolution France. I was so engrossed that it was quite an unhappy day when I finished this volume.
...more
(Actually, if you are about to begin the series, start with this book, which introduces Ravel and his relationship with the police that figures prominently in the rest of the series.)
CAVALIER offers an intriguing mystery with a satisfying ending, all set against the historic backdrop of unsettled times in pre-revolution France. I was so engrossed that it was quite an unhappy day when I finished this volume.
...more
Could be shorter with better editing. Made me want to go back to Paris. Interesting bit about veterinarian Fragonard and his weird "sculptures" of dead bodies and dead animals. Some of these apparently still exist--I'll have to look it up.
Paris, 3 years before the revolution. A scribbler who writes screed against the gov't, treasonous Freemasons, a beautiful woman, betrayal, pseudo friends and a missing dead body. Good story twists and excellent sense of place/time
This was an excellent story. I really enjoyed hearing are Aristide became involved in being a, "Spy" for the Paris police. The additional storyline surrounding Marie Antonette was great.
I really enjoyed this book. I'm new to historical fiction and found this book quite enjoyable. Good charatcers, great plot twists. I'm reading more by Susanne Alleyn
such a good story, i really love historical fiction and this is a great specimen
Murder mystery in pre Revolutionary France
Since I wrote this book, I hardly feel I should review it, so just go click on your Kindle and read it, OK? :-)
Masonic murder in Paris and Police
3.5?
The plot's a little lackluster, but Ravel's an interesting guy and I can see future success for Alleyn if she gets more creative in the things she gives him to do.
Barely remember it.
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The granddaughter of children’s author Lillie V. Albrecht (author of Deborah Remembers, The Spinning Wheel Secret, and three other historicals, all now available for Kindle), Susanne Alleyn definitely doesn’t write for children, unless, like her, they have found guillotines, high drama, and the French Revolution fascinating since the age of ten or so.
Susanne grew up in Massachusetts an...more
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