Pierre Ayraud (right) with Pierre Boileau Photo: Jean-Claude Deutsch/Paris Match via Getty Images (1977)
Sample of authors
Ayraud, Pierre
Pierre Ayraud, who published his books under the pseudonym Thomas Narcejac, and Pierre Boileau are two of the best known names in French crime writing. Together, they wrote a large number of detective novels signed Boileau-Narcejac, and they were prominent figures on the late 20th century literary scene. Ayraud was also a great connoisseur of crime writing, and he wrote several famous...
Literary figures
Henri Bencolin
Gender: Male
Bencolin is a sardonic gentleman, with a high position in the Paris police force and is described as a ‘Mephistopheles smoking a cigar’. Little is known about his background and private life, but he is described as rather unfeeling, even cruel, and lives entirely for solving what are called ‘impossible crimes’ in John Dickson Carr’s earliest novels with elements of horror. On occasion, Bencolin is...