Of all the possible set-ups for an engrossing series of crime novels, murder and mayhem as investigated by a 19th Century Parisian bookseller may not appear the most promising. Yet the exploits of Victor Legris are turning out to be a fin de siecle delight. The Montmartre Investigation is the third (of six) to feature the bookselling detective and is another first-rate escapist pleasure.

After a young woman is discovered strangled on Boulevard Montmartre, her face burned with acid, one of her shoes is delivered to Victor Legris’ bookshop. Inexorably, Victor and his assistant Joseph once again become embroiled in a dangerous mystery, as they try to uncover both the victim’s identity and the identity of the murderer.

But the story, although a good one, is only part of the appeal of The Montmartre Investigation. Top of that particular list is the city itself and Claude Izner’s non-sentimental evocation of a real-life, bustling, messy Paris is a joy. Victor Legris tours the city’s greatest hits, but also a demi-monde of alleyways, markets, bohemian salons and cafes, encountering the great and the not so good along the way. Also enjoyable is the milieu surrounding Victor Legris. This is now approaching serial drama as the lives of Tasha, his lover, Kenji, his partner and Joseph, his assistant are fleshed out and inter-connected.

These aren’t difficult books to get a handle on, with easily recognisable echoes from other crime novels and an obvious series-spanning hook. But they are also easy books to like, as they are charming, witty and beautifully evocative. Claude Izner is actually the nom de plume of two Parisian bookselling sisters, Liliane Korb and Laurence LeFevre, and they clearly knows their fin de siecle Parisian stuff. More importantly they are highly capable of transferring the essence of their city directly onto the page, in order to create vibrantly frothy entertainment.

The good people at Gallic Books have commissioned pretty seamless translations and produced lovely looking editions and for fans of period crime fiction, or indeed of Paris itself, these are thoroughly enjoyable escapist reads that are well worth diving in to. The Montmartre Investigation is not perhaps the first port of call, but it is a worthy addition to the Victor Legris series.

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