L'Ombre De L'autre

L'Ombre de l'Autre This 1934 French detective novel by Charles de Richter concerns Inspector Achille Bastien of the Sûreté's special brigade. A rotund, seemingly genial figure with a characteristic dry cough that signals investigative intuition, Bastien is reading Balzac when interrupted by Durkheim, a colleague, with an extraordinary case. The murder defendant Abdel-Mesin, a North African carpet merchant tried for killing a rival over a prostitute, was set for trial at the assizes. During proceedings, a female photographer's magnesium flash burns him severely. Transported from the courtroom, Abdel-Mesin dies minutes later. The presiding judge calls it accidental, but the defense attorney shockingly announces the death and suggests divine justice precedes human judgment. The text cuts off as he continues speaking.