Married on Saturday, Thèrése Malausséne dumps her husband, the ramrod-straight, squeaky-clean councillor, and returns to her own home in Paris's Belleville quarter on Monday morning. At about the same time, the eminent but jilted husband is found dead and shoeless at the bottom of a stairwell, and a sack of money has gone missing. Thèrése's brother, Benjamin, a natural scapegoat, packs his bag and waits for the police to come for him—it's no secret that Benjamin's new brother-in-law is his least favorite man—but it is Thèrése whom they arrest. In addition, Thèrése's fairground caravan has been torched, the work of a homicidal arsonist. The chaotic Malausséne tribe and their exuberant friends slip smartly into gear to scour Paris in search of the bonafide culprits and get their beloved sister out of jail. Daniel Pennac's "Belleville Quintet," a cult success in France, also includes The Scapegoat, Monsieur Malaussene, The Fairy Gunmother, and Write to Kill.
