City of Light, City of Poison

Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris

By: Holly Tucker

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Appointed to conquer the "crime capital of the world", the first police chief of Paris faces an epidemic of murder in the late 1600s. Assigned by Louis XIV, Nicolas de La Reynie begins by clearing the streets of filth and installing lanterns throughout Paris, turning it into the City of Light.

The fearless La Reynie pursues criminals through the labyrinthine neighborhoods of the city. He unearths a tightly knit cabal of poisoners, witches, and renegade priests. As he exposes their unholy work, he soon learns that no one is safe from black magic - not even the Sun King. In a world where a royal glance can turn success into disgrace, the distance between the quietly back-stabbing world of the king's court and the criminal underground proves disturbingly short. Nobles settle scores by employing witches to craft poisons and by hiring priests to perform dark rituals in Paris' most illustrious churches and cathedrals.

As La Reynie continues his investigations, he is haunted by a single question: could Louis' mistresses be involved in such nefarious plots? The pragmatic and principled La Reynie must decide just how far he will go to protect his king.

From secret courtrooms to torture chambers, City of Light, City of Poison is a gripping true-crime tale of deception and murder. Based on thousands of pages of court transcripts and La Reynie's compulsive note taking, as well as on letters and diaries, Tucker's riveting narrative makes the fascinating, real-life characters breathe and live.

©2017 Holly Tucker (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Amazing research and details !

I love history and this opened up a fascinating and untold chapter. I’ve never studied French history and this was an amazing chapter that was well hidden for centuries . The inner workings of the Royals. The dark side of the city. The struggles of people to survive in this era at all financial levels. The treatment of those accused..... I would say we have advanced since then. But then look at what has happened to the Saudi journalist.

Brilliant

City of light, city of poison is a brilliantly research and written book about the criminal element in Paris in the late 1600s. It had me gripped from beginning to end.

A challenging listen

As a non-French speaking American I was lost in the French names - without which the story simply could not be told! My strategy became one of allowing the sheer constancy of the poisonings of the disliked or the merely “inconvenient”.
Gave pause for reflection on measures the powerless in earlier societies may have chosen in evening scores.

I wish every city had a book like this!

Would you consider the audio edition of City of Light, City of Poison to be better than the print version?

educational, interesting, accurate

Who was your favorite character and why?

King Louis, of course!

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

She is just a really really good narrator.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

History the way it should be taught! Through anecdotes!

Any additional comments?

I wish there were books like this for all major cities! It makes learning about history interesting.

A fascinating read, bad description

The book was a really interesting read, but it wasn't at all about what I thought it would be. The first few chapters were about the new police chief of Paris, and the changes he implemented. It was fascinating, and I thought the book would continue in that vein.

But the majority of the book was about the "affair of the poisons," a story about royal/political intrigue, starring some of the characters you meet in the first couple of chapters. I kept waiting for it to return to the original premise, but once I understood it wouldn't, I again enjoyed it.

Some books better read than listened

The author relates a fascinating story, previously completely unknown to me. It was thoroughly researched. However there are so many French names, though beautifully pronounced, that it is hard for this English speaking reader to follow and remember.
So I love the book, but recommend reading over listening.

Lust,, murder, and greed: the origins of France...

(As posted in Goodreads)
Unfortunately, I took a month off in the middle of reading this book which made me forget a lot of the details. I already know that I need to reread the book.
What I did get from the book was that there was a period of 150 or so years in the late 1600s/early 1700s when France was a total mess with passion, murders, and rampant greed and desired for power and control. The number of murders and poisonings was astronomical and the ruler of France and the first police chief were involved in all of the goings on. The King of France had a lot to do to try and maintain control and run the country while tamping down Individuals desires and rights.
Again, I need to reread the book to be able to actually put things together and realize the nuances and realities of the situations, but I do know that it was an interesting read and, although, history is not my first choice in general, it was well written and held my interest!

Account of an unknown champion of justice

As a strong supporter of law enforcement, I found this book about the first police chief of Paris in the reign of Louis XIV to be very enlightening. It also highlights the dangers of being under a monarchy. well the methods used to obtain Justice may seem barbaric to current sensibilities, it must be remembered that back then that was the way to do it. And the crimes committed and punished where, in my mind, more barbaric.

Excellent popular history!

It says something when a book’s only bad reviews are from people who whine that the French pronunciation was too authentic and hard for them to understand, or that it was too intellectual for them. So yes—if you want a silly historical fiction murder mystery, there are plenty of schlock books out there. If you want a surprisingly accessible popular history about the Affair of the Poisons, buy this now!

Well researched and fascinating

I was aware of the subject, but I'm otherwise unfamiliar with the period. If you don't count sleeping, I listened to the book straight through. It was hard not to feel bad for the people caught up in the witch hunt, tortured, and executed.