Sadly this book did not capture - and certainly failed to hold - my interest. I realised that, having started it some time ago, found myself distracted and put it down, then picked it up and carried on, and then once again distracted by other more interesting stories and things I had no desire to read further. For me, the flaws in it meant I lacked the interest to continue.

Normally I wouldn’t review a book I did not manage to finish but, having accepted a copy in exchange for a review, I feel bound to do so. In the past I have struggled through books to do so. Here however I could not quite bring myself to do so.

Why? The idea appealed. Occupied France in World War II, the challenge of upholding the law, being stuck between occupiers and the people. I remembered enjoying some of Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther books before. The execution let it down, however.

The book isn’t badly written at all; but it isn’t engaging enough. The story is told as a hard boiled detective first person. Here the narrative voice is particularly important - one of the joys of reading Chandler is the voice of Marlowe, with its wit and wry observations. There is an attempt to mimic something of that at times here but it didn’t quite work for me. An issue with the American inspired style, perhaps especially given the author appears equally Anglo-Saxon, is that none of it appears particularly French in character. I didn’t really buy that the characters were Parisian.

Paris itself fails to emerge as a characterful background: this could be virtually any city. But then none of the characters really blossomed into life for me either. The investigation meanders somewhat.

I am very glad others liked it more but I can’t really recommend it.

In Occupied Paris the French police are trying to maintain law and order despite being hated by the Germans and also the ordinary people. Eddie Giral has some influence and respect from the occupying forces but he is also seen as a rebellious loose cannon. When he starts to investigate a case surrounding the death of a black market profiteer, he discovers that maybe the lines are becoming blurred.
It is the the credit of Lloyd's writing that I didn't realise that this was the third book in an ongoing series until I started to write this review! It sits really neatly on its own and is an excellent read. I find the period fascinating and the tensions of relationships under the extreme circumstances are drawn in a coherent and readable sense. The characters are believable and there is also an undercurrent of dark humour that I loved.

“collaborator”

noun

disapproving

a person who works with an enemy who has taken control of their country



Collaborator is a word Eddie Giral is hearing far too often. It is shouted at him, hissed at him and muttered about him behind his back. It is not a word which Eddie accepts. He is a Paris cop, he is doing the job he’s always done and is trying to do it to the best of his ability. But the citizens of Paris are increasingly distrustful of Eddie as it is 1940 and Paris is under German control. If Eddie is trying to enforce the law then the assumption is that he is working alongside the Germans and that makes him a collaborator with their oppressor, this means people are less likely to trust him and his ability to do his job will also be severely impacted.

An inability to gather information is a major hinderance to Eddie as his role is very much to keep his German “boss”, Major Hochstetter, informed of various aspects of criminal activity within the city. Eddie’s actual boss within the French police is Inspector Dax. Both Dax and Hochstetter have an interest in Black Market activity within Paris. As the city residents approach the second Christmas under occupation there is an increasing shortage of many types of staples and this means black market trading is rife.

Banquet of Beggars opens with Eddie, not above the law in some instances, trying to join a large queue of hopeful shoppers who have had word a supply of butter may be available. The source of the rumour (and the source of the butter) are somewhat vague and there’s real doubt any butter which does materialise will be legally obtained but Eddie’s happy to take the chance and overlook any grey legal areas. Unfortunately for Eddie his shopping is going to be interrupted by the discovery of a body but with hindsight he realises he may have moved a bit closer to gathering important information about the Paris Black Market. The body Eddie will find certainly has some connection to illegal trading – not least because someone has stuffed some butter into the corpse’s mouth. And that’s not the most unexpected thing he finds at the crime scene!

Tasked with finding more about the illegal traders in the city Eddie is frustrated to find his office space is to be shared with a new administrative assistant and also with his colleague Detective Boniface. Even during wartime and in the midst of personal drama and challenging work commitments it’s somewhat reassuring to see just how frustrated Eddie can be when having to deal with workplace disruptions and losing some of his precious desk space.

What I particularly love about Chris Lloyd’s Eddie Giral books is how Paris springs to life around the police, the soldiers and even the surly bar staff who Eddie delights in winding up. These books are not simply a crime story they are accompanied by a fascinating insight into the social history of Parisians during the 40’s. Aspects of their life are woven into the plot so we can see how they coped with rationing, increasing fear at the Gestapo’s “techniques” for gathering information, travel when there are fuel shortages and even how they choose to socialise. The depth of the world Chris Lloyd spins around his characters is an absolute treat for readers – small wonder he has won the HWA Gold Crown for Best Historical Fiction.

Eddie Giral is a man with a raft of problems. To be fair, however, many of these problems come from Eddie’s own sardonic nature and his inability to keep the inside thoughts unspoken. His personal life is in turmoil as he has to keep his relationship secret from the authorities – Germans are not accepting of black women at this time and Eddie cannot afford to have Major Hochstetter discover a potential weakness in Eddie’s life which Hochstetter could exploit. This is equally true of Eddie’s son who has fled the city and Eddie doesn’t know if his son is safe or even if he is alive.

Beggars Banquet zips along at a very enjoyable pace. Eddie’s investigations into the Black Market trading gets waylaid by the appointment of a new judge who seems intent on making an example of two foolish small-time crooks by sentencing them to death by guillotine despite a lack of any real evidence. Eddie has known the crooks (brothers) for many years and is doing his best to prove their innocence despite the judge ignoring any attempts to see justice done – it will please the Germans that action is seen to be taken. Eddie has also been asked to help secure the release of a young French protestor who got caught up in an anti-German event – this is more tricky for Eddie as she is being held by the Gestapo and Eddie will need Hochstetter’s help to secure her freedom. But Hochstetter isn’t interested in helping Eddie.

It’s a glorious sequence of dilemma, drama and a swinging shift in power dynamics. Chris Lloyd keeps many plates spinning through the whole book and just as it looks like everything will come crashing down around the ears of Eddie Giral, well perhaps something does…



Crime fiction in a wartime setting – the Eddie Giral novels should not be missed. Essential reading.

Inspector Giral chases the killer of a black marketeer against the backdrop of wore torn Paris. It is a place of divided loyalties and mistrust under the increasing violence of the German occupiers in which normal police work has to continue in difficult circumstances.
I struggled to put this down with the tension and twists and turns.

*4.5 stars*

In the Second World War Germans forced relocation of the French government from Paris to Vichy on the 10th of June 1940. It marked the beginning of the German Occupation in Paris effective as of 14th of June, 1940.

It’s here that we meet Detective Eddie Giral, who like the rest of the inhabitants of Paris have lost the life that they took for granted.

Eddie is investigating the murder of a black-marketeer, but when a German trader is the next to die, the authorities decide it's innocent civilians who will pay the price - unless Eddie can find the killer in time.
As food rationing, and lack of coal and electricity begins to impact the people, sheer hunger forces them into rebellion. Eddie though is forced into appeasing the Occupiers and thereby not only saving the lives of civilians, but also himself.

The hardship of the French people is in stark contrast to the life of plenty for the German Occupiers. Eddie Giral, who has nothing but contempt for those Occupiers, and doesn’t hold back on his feelings either, brings much humour to an otherwise grim period in history, and he gets himself into a whole load of trouble while he’s at it! Well researched, well written, and highly recommended.

Occupied Paris is the setting for Banquet of Beggars. Eddie Giral is hunting the murderer of a Black Marketeer, all the time walking the line between trying to protect his fellow French citizens and not antagonising (too much) the occupying Germans.

This is a time for secrets, not only from the Germans but between work colleagues, neighbours and even lovers. Eddie is forced to make choices that no one wants to make...

Thanks to Netgalley, Chris Lloyd and Orion for the advanced reader copy which I am giving my honest opinion of. I will be waiting for the next patiently for!

Paris, 1940, troubled cop Édouard is investigating a black market racket and murder in Occupied Paris. Banquet of Beggars describes the weariness of hunger, rationing and distrust and sees Eddie making impossible decisions to protect his community whilst facing loathing from them for his collaboration with the German Authorities. This is the third book in the series but makes sense as a stand alone story. The writing is jokey which relieved the darkness. and the descriptions and metaphors reminded me of other authors of this wartime detective genre, with a nod to Chandler. I like historical fiction and enjoyed the period detail but found the characters were emblems rather than rounded people I could connect with or care about. I wanted to know Whodunnit and read with interest to the end but realised that detective novels pass the time nicely for me but don't make me rush to recommend. 3 1/2 stars.

Banquet of Beggars sees the return of Detective Eddie Giral who in between having to survive occupied 1940 Paris has a complex murder investigation to deal with where everything is not straightforward.

This series recreates the atmosphere of Paris under the occupation and uses the city as a major character within the books which is a credit to the author.

This is another enjoyable book and is definitely recommended.

The third book in this excellent series that is set in occupied Paris during the Second World War. It's the winter of 1940 and the French population is suffering from shortages of food and fuel. The black-market is the background to this story and Detective Eddie Giral is trying to solve a murder of a black-marketeer.
The historical setting is superb and well-researched. The hardship and deprivation of the French people in contrast to the German occupiers is vividly portrayed. Eddie is a wonderful character and the difficult decisions he has to make to keep the Parisians safe whilst appeasing the Germans makes for grim reading at times.
This is a gripping historical read.

The third in what is turning out to be a fascinating and well researched and written series.

Positively Furstian and Kerr-like in its droll humour and historical accuracy the plot is clever and well developed and the characters well drawn.

Wartime Paris is of course the real hero of this exceptional book.

I envy anyone reading this book for the first time. I know I will have to reread it a new times now I‘ve finished it to better understand the twists and turns. Chris Lloyd is a very good writer. He is skilful at conveying a country under occupation and showing it to you from the perspective of Eddie Giral. I have this series of novels on my must buy list because the storytelling is superb. This book was engaging from start to finish.

Another stark and hard hitting story of life in wartime Paris.

"Banquet of Beggars" opens in Paris in the winter of 1940, just a few months after the events of "Paris Requiem". The Nazi occupation is starting to deeply affect its citizens. Food is in short supply, as is coal, and life is hard for many, especially Detective Eddie Giral. He sees the worst of everything, and trying to work under the conditions set by the Nazis, makes his job all the harder. When a black-marketeer is found murdered, Eddie is assigned the case, and it's not long before he starts to unravel a complex and dangerous conspiracy.

When another murder takes place, this time a German trader, the Nazi occupiers decide there needs to be retribution unless the killer is found. And so Eddie enters a race against time, caught in a web of deceit and subterfuge. His job is made that much harder as he discovers the involvement of power-mad Nazis, prominent Parisians, and out of town mobsters.

Fans of author Chris Lloyd's previous Giral books will not be disappointed. Paris under Nazi rule is painted in dark and dismal detail - empty streets, empty shops, empty people are all drawn in stark profile. At the same time, the divide between the haves and have-nots, those suffering under the occupation, and those thriving, is made plain. The ways in which the people of Paris try to feed themselves and heat themselves, while trying to adhere to the rules laid down by their oppressors is laid bare on the page. Attempts by cinema-goers to vent their hatred of the Nazi's by boo-ing at the screen is funny, but also sad. The role of the black market is key to the story, and again, the ways in which people are forced to act, is distressing. As the complex conspiracy unfolds, Eddie is forced to make his own difficult decisions.

Readers will be pleased to know their favourite characters are all here - Dominique, the Bouvier Brothers, and Detective Boniface. And of course, Nazi liaison, Major Hochstetter - the scenes between him and Eddie are some of the highlights of the book, as they thrust and parry to use the other to their advantage. Eddie, at least, scores some decent coffee and whisky now and again.

This is possibly the finest book yet in the series - in parts distressing, in others enlightening, it never fails to bring into stark focus life in occupied Paris. The choices people had to make, and the concessions forced on them are clear. And even pragmatic Eddie Giral has to decide which battles to win and which to lose.

This excellent book will appeal to long-time fans and those of Luke McCallin, Simon Scarrow and Ben Creed. Heartily recommended.