This is no.2 in the series and is quite extraordinary.
Aristide, an ineffectual and vacillating son of Pierre in no.315 above, has moved to Paris and hitching a ride on his elder brother’s brains and connections, begins working in town planning. Polson like, he is soon using his insider knowledge in this area to make huge profits as old Paris is knocked down and rebuilt in shining imperial mode under the new empire.
Meanwhile, his wife is having an incestuous relationship with his son by a previous marriage. Although he finds out about this towards the end of the book Aristide doesn’t give a shit as both he and his son consort with all sorts of women and his concern is primarily to extract more and more money from his wife’s family, which of course he does.
The Kill is both financial and of the wife, who dies having lost her love at the end.
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