Following Shell Shock, winner of the Historical Crime Novel Award, Michaëla Watteaux’s new novel marks the return of Varenne, Mathilde, and Antoinette, who find themselves investigating a criminal case that rocks the political world in a Paris gripped by the rise of far-right leagues.

Paris, November 1930. The body of a young woman is found in the Seine, horribly mutilated. The press quickly dubs her “The Red Camellia” because her face was recognized emerging from a blood-red flower on a hypnotic advertisement plastered on Morris columns.

The leads pursued by Paul Varenne, the detective in charge of the investigation, seem to point to François Coty, a powerful perfume magnate with shady political connections. The detective finds himself plunged into a world where luxury and corruption go hand in hand, and where a thousand secrets remain carefully buried.

Supported by his loyal team and the beautiful but elusive Mathilde de Villedieu, Varenne must untangle lies and pretense to unmask the murderer before he strikes again.

But the heady scent of the perfumer and his entourage stirs up old memories within him: the ghost of Marguerite, his beloved who has passed away, haunts him with renewed intensity. Torn between grief and haunting memories, Varenne must fight to stay clear-headed and see the investigation through to the end.

Michaëla Watteaux was born in Stockholm. She was accepted into the IDHEC (now FEMIS) program and went on to write and direct documentaries and fiction films, particularly on the status of women and the glass ceiling they face. She also teaches screenwriting and directing techniques.