Memory of Flames

Napoleonic Murders #3

by Armand Cabasson, Isabel Reid (Translator)

March 1814. With the allied armies of Russia, Austria, and Prussia advancing, Paris is in real danger of falling to occupying forces for the first time in four-hundred years. In the final installment of The Napoleonic Murders series, Armand Cabasson creates a gripping and totally convincing narrative.

Genres: Historical Fiction

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Armand Cabasson is a psychiatrist and novelist working in the north of France.

Reviews

[AVid_D · Rating 3 out of 5]

A top end 3. I enjoyed this the most in the trilogy, with there seeming to be a better fit of the battle history and the crime "mystery".

[Janka H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A killer in the shadows. A city in the turmoil. An adversary who might be much more understandable that you would think.

March, 1814. The Napoleonic Empire is down and the Allies' Army is marching to Paris. But Parisians are carelessly relying on the Napoleon's military genius. But the tide is turning and this time the genius might not be enough. And the royalists, hidden in the darkness, are eagerly preparing to reinstall the king of the Bourbon house.
Then the Colonel Berle, the one drawing the defense plan for Paris, is found assassinated with his face burned by flames. And Lieutenant Colonel Quentin Margont once again finds himself under orders to solve the murder and also finds the Tsar's emissary hiding in Paris - and all this undercover. He is to enter the secret royalist' group - but how can an idealist Republican successfully appear as the one with totally opposite thinking?

This is the best in the series. The military aspect is downplayed and the psychological is at its strong. I believe that this is because Quentin Margont is challenged on a very personal level - this is not just about the crime solving, this is about confronting his ideals with the reality in which he lives, and finding himself and his place in that situation.
Maybe that's because he finds it so uncomfortable to transform into an opposite being, a royalist - but this challenge is both unnecessary and liberating at the end.
The story of a killer is very human one, actually. He is not genuinely insane because of being born that way, it is the environment and circumstances (yes, together with his free will) what had shaped him into a killer. An interesting story and a good reminder!

The historical context is rich and truly got me into thinking how the times of ending kingdom, revolution and empire were for the people, how much blood was spent in waste and how to get into terms with it (if it is humanely possible).

The third one in the series is a charm and I am sad to see the series go. This is to hope that we can meet again, Monsieur Margont!

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dopo aver mancato di sconfiggere la Russia, Napoleone è ormai nella fase discendente della parabola, con le monarchie europee che si sono alleate e ormai gli danno la caccia. Enormi eserciti sono in marcia verso Parigi, e l'esercito dell'imperatore, enormemente ridotto, è per loro poco più di una puntura di zanzara. A Parigi è rimasto Joseph, fratello di Napoleone, pavido e paranoico, che non ne condivide il genio. Alla vigilia di quella che è ormai una inevitabile catastrofe, viene ritrovato il corpo senza vita del generale incaricato di studiare la difesa di Parigi. L'uomo non solo è stato ucciso, ma il suo viso è stato sfigurato dalle fiamme, e vicino a lui è stato lasciato il simbolo di uno dei tanti gruppo realisti che vorrebbero rimettere i Borbone sul trono. C'è un solo uomo abbastanza intelligente per portare avanti l'indagine infiltrandosi tra i realisti, ed è il tenente colonnello Quentin Margont, che inizierà quindi un gioco di gatto e topo diventando sia il cacciatore del gruppo che cela al suo interno l'assassino, sia la loro preda. Gioco pericolosissimo per la sua incolumità personale e disperato, perché gli Alleati si avvicinano ogni giorno di più alla capitale.
Interessantissima ricostruzione storica del clima parigino alla vigilia della caduta di Napoleone, trama gialla molto articolata e personaggi approfonditi e realistici. Lettura davvero consigliabile.
Ringrazio Gallic Book e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.

After failing to defeat Russia, Napoleon is now in the descending phase of his parable, with the European monarchies which are allied and now are after him. Huge armies are on the march towards Paris, and the greatly reduced emperor's army is for them a little more than a mosquito bite. In Paris remained Joseph, brother of Napoleon, fearful and paranoid, that does not share his brother's genius. On the eve of what is now an inevitable catastrophe, it was found the lifeless body of the general in charge of studying the defense of Paris. The man has not only been killed, but his face was disfigured by the flames, and next to him was left the symbol of one of the many royalist groups that would like to restore the Bourbons on the throne. There is only one smart enough man to carry out the investigation by infiltrating between the royalists, and he is Lieutenant Colonel Quentin Margont, which will then begin a cat and mouse game becoming both the hunter inside group that hide the murderer and their prey. Very dangerous game for his personal safety, and desperate, because the Allies are approaching every day the capital.
Very interesting historical reconstruction of the Parisian atmosphere on the eve of the fall of Napoleon, very articulate thriller plot and depth and realistic characters. Really recommend reading.
Thank Gallic Book and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review

[E Vikander · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is March 16, 1814. The Allies are closing in on Napoleon and will soon be threatening Paris. Lieutenant Colonel Quentin Margont, field officer of the National Guard of Paris, is ordered on a secret mission by Joseph Bonaparte and Talleyrand to identify and arrest the assassin of Colonel Berle who was stabbed in the heart in his Parisian home. Oddly, his face was also burnt. The Colonel was planning the defense of Paris and royalists are suspected in his murder. Margont must go undercover as a member of the Swords of the King. He must also find the Tsar’s secret agent, who is hiding in Paris, in the hope of dissolving the allied coalition. Margont solves the mystery with the help of his friends, and his open-minded, creative way of thinking.

Cabasson brilliantly enriches this mystery with historical detail in this last of three books in this series. Besides the indefatigable Margont, I was impressed by the murderer who carries poisons in small terra cotta pots to test by injecting an ox at the butchers; the royalist who escaped the guillotine during the reign of terror, after having been bayoneted by his jailers while playing dead, then thrown in a communal grave; and Margont’s boyhood memory of the tricoteuses who stuck their knitting needles in the eyes of decapitated heads at the guillotine. Although Cabasson concludes the book gracefully, I know I will greatly miss Margont and his brave companions; it saddens me.

[Vontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just discovered this series, translated from the French, written during Napeleon's reign and following the Revolution. They are historical thrillers, and this is third one of the series. It may be the last one go three of this series. This one takes place in March 1814. The protagonist is Lieutenant-Colonel Quentin Margont, who has been charged br Joseph Bonaparte to investigate the death of a Colonel Berle, who was drawing up plans to defend Paris. His face was burned. Margont is charged with infiltrating a group of Royalists who undoubtedly orchestrated this killing.

Excellent book, intertwined with the history(at this time the combined forces of most of Europe are trying to defeat Napoleon after years of their own defeats), and the complicated plots and counterplots. Margont must try to uncover and defeat the plot, at great risk to himself, even though he had no choice but to accept the task. Fascinating look at historical details in medicine, poisons, and care of the "insane", as well as the military and historical era.

[San Diego Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final days of Napoleon was a confusing and chaotic time, but during this time of chaos someone is murdering prominent people; so the government must send in a spy among the Royalists to find out who it is and to arrest them before more powerful people die. In Memory of Flames by Armand Cabasson brings us the third book of the Quentin Margont murder mystery series. Read the entire review at http://www.sandiegobookreview.com/mem...

Reviewed by Kevin Winters

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as good as the other 2 in the series