Jean-François Parot

Jean-François Parot (27 June 1946 Paris – 23 May 2018 Missillac) was a French diplomat and author of historical mysteries, known for his Nicolas Le Floch series.

Background and professional career Coming from a family closely connected with the cinema (as a child, he knew Jean Gabin, his mother worked for Marcel Carné and his grandfather was the editor of Abel Gance's Napoléon ), Parot got a BA and an MA in history and completed postgraduate studies in anthropology, specializing in Egyptian mummification techniques, the myths of the Pacific Islanders and the social history of 18th-century Paris. He wrote the study Structures sociales des quartiers de Grève, Saint-Avoye et Saint-Antoine, 1780–1785 (published on microfiche by Hachette, 1974).

Following his military service, he worked in Saint-Louis, Senegal and was launched into diplomacy "by chance" They are the subject of a television adaptation on France 2 by former police inspector Hugues Pagan with Jérôme Robart in the title role.

Fictional character Nicolas Le Floch was born in Guérande, Brittany, the illegitimate son of the Marquis de Ranreuil, raised by Canon Le Floch. When the cycle of novels begins in 1761, he is working with the (real-life) Antoine de Sartine, Lieutenant General of Police of Paris, and promoted to Commissaire of le Châtelet. Assisted by Inspector Pierre Bourdeau and others he goes on to solve crimes as well as pursue a complicated love life. He and many of his friends are gourmets and descriptions of food feature prominently in the novels.

Works Les enquêtes de Nicolas Le Floch, commissaire au Châtelet (Listed here are the first French editions (Éd. J.-C. Lattès, Paris) and the first English editions (Gallic Books, London)

L'Énigme des Blancs-Manteaux, 2000. – The Châtelet Apprentice, 2007. L'Homme au ventre de plomb, 2000. – The Man with the Lead Stomach, 2008. Le Fantôme de la rue Royale, 2001. – The Phantom of the Rue Royale, 2008. L'Affaire Nicolas Le Floch, 2002. – The Nicolas Le Floch Affair, 2009. Le Crime de l'hôtel Saint-Florentin, 2004. – The Saint-Florentin Murders, 2010. Le Sang des farines, 2005. – The Baker's Blood, 2012. Le Cadavre anglais, 2007. Le Noyé du grand canal, 2009. L'Honneur de Sartine, 2010. L'Enquête russe, 2012. L'Année du volcan, 2013. La Pyramide de glace, 2014. L'Inconnu du pont Notre-Dame, 2015. Le Prince de Cochinchine, 2017 .