THE UNWANTED DEAD

Paris, Friday 14th June 1940

The day the Nazis march into Paris, making headlines around the globe.

Paris police detective Eddie Giral – a survivor of the last World War – watches helplessly on as his world changes forever.

But there is something he still has control over. Finding whoever is responsible for the murder of four refugees. The unwanted dead, who no one wants to claim.

To do so, he must tread carefully between the Occupation and the Resistance, between truth and lies, between the man he is and the man he was.

All the while becoming whoever he must be to survive in this new and terrible order descending on his home...

Praise for The Unwanted Dead

“A tense and gripping mystery which hums with menace and dark humour as well as immersing the reader in the life of occupied Paris” Judges, HWA GOLD CROWN AWARD 

“Terrific” SUNDAY TIMES, Best Books of the Month

“A thoughtful, haunting thriller” MICK HERRON

“Lloyd’s Second World War Paris is rougher than Alan Furst’s, and Eddie Giral, his French detective, is way edgier than Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther … Ranks alongside both for its convincingly cloying atmosphere of a city subjugated to a foreign power, a plot that reaches across war-torn Europe and into the rifts in the Nazi factions, and a hero who tries to be a good man in a bad world. Powerful stuff.” THE TIMES

“The best kind of crime novel: gripping, thought-provoking and moving. In Detective Eddie Giral, Chris Lloyd has created a flawed hero not just for occupied Paris, but for our own times, too” KATHERINE STANSFIELD

"Tense, emotional and vividly written." WOMAN & HOME

“Excellent . . . In Eddie Giral, Lloyd has created a character reminiscent of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther, oozing with attitude and a conflicted morality that powers a complex, polished plot. Historical crime at its finest” VASEEM KHAN

“Monumentally impressive … A truly wonderful book. If somebody’d given it to me and told me it was the latest Robert Harris, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Eddie Giral is a wonderful creation” ALIS HAWKINS

“Brilliant, rip-roaring stuff. Vividly written and pitch perfect. A great historical crime novel” CATHERINE BALAVAGE, FROST MAGAZINE

“A terrific read – gripping and well-paced. The period atmosphere is excellent” MARK ELLIS

“A police story with a difference, sepia-painted to match the time and circumstances, with a convincing background and atmosphere, skilfully drawn to encompass the fates of the lead characters as if you were there by their side. Well-written and carefully researched, it is one to stay with you long after you have finished reading” ADRIAN MAGSON, SHOTS MAGAZINE