Pierre Yrondy, the author of The Adventures of Th r se Arnaud of the French Secret Service, penned those of Marius P gomas, Marseille Detective, serialized in 35 installments published in 1936. Six of these are being translated here for the first time.
Marius P gomas is one of the first "regional detectives" and, physically, bears some resemblance to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. He is a portly, yet remarkably fit, crime-solver whose talents prove invaluable to local Police Commissioner Santelli. In this collection, with the help of hisfianc e, the pretty Flora Minuscule, Marius P gomas tackles to the villainous Gangsters of La Joliette, an Opium-dealing ring and a female child trafficker nicknamed the "Ogress" of the Canebi re.
Yrondy's style is characterized by staccato-delivered sentences, sprinkled with local slang, which give the stories a sense of immediacy and realism.