Pel Among the Pueblos

Fans of crotchety, chain-smoking Chief Inspector Pel (Pel and the Faceless Corpse) will enjoy his ninth case. An educated, semi-retired gangster and his bodyguard are murdered and very soon Pel and his detectives know how, when and by whom. But they must discover why, which leads Pel and his aristocratic assistant DeTroquereau on a journey to Mexico after the miscreant. Away from his beloved Burgundy, Pel is given a quick course in the history of the French intervention in Mexico during the 1860s. The dead gangster's mistress, a young rival and a slightly bent history professor are all involved in a treasure hunt. Two of them are murdered before Pel, back in France, finally realizes the identity of Emperor Maximilian's ""treasure.'' This procedural also deals with some fishy car thefts, phantom break-ins at a big store, Pel's attempts to give up cigarettes and the charming ways of Pel's saintly wife. Spare dialogue, good French and Mexican color and Hebden's dry humor enliven the narrative. (January 11)