Days of Atonement

"It is 1807 and Napoleon's army has swept over Prussia, leaving in its wake a conquered land occupied by the French. Local magistrate Hanno Stiffeniis has retreated to his home in the countryside in the hopes that he can keep himself away from the scrutiny of the occupying forces. But when Serge Lavedrine, Paris's famed criminologist, requires his services, Stiffeniis has little choice but to accept." "Three children have been found massacred in their beds, Their mother has disappeared without a trace. Terrified by the gruesome murders, the local townspeople have become convinced that the crimes are the work of the local Jewish population. The ghetto has been closed off, but the crowds gathered in the streets are desperate for justice of any kind. The French authorities want nothing more than a quick resolution and an end to the hysteria that has gripped the town." "Stiffeniis has his own reasons for accepting the case. The victims' father serves as a soldier in remote Kamenetz, where the resistance to Napoleon's occupation is already developing. If Stiffeniis cannot discover the whereabouts of the mother and the identity of the murderer in time, he risks exposing the Prussian rebellion to the French before it has the strength to act. To succeed he must once again put to use the powers of deduction learned from his late teacher, the famed philosopher Immanuel Kant."--BOOK JACKET.Gregorio, Michael is the author of 'Days of Atonement', published 2008 under ISBN 9780312376444 and ISBN 0312376448.