The Girl in the Window

In the novel, the events unfold on the author’s native ground. The town of Albi, the center of the historical region of Albigeois, at the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century was known throughout the Christian world: the Albigensians, a branch of the heretical Cathar sect, settled there, and to deal with them the pope had to announce crusades against the Albigensians, which later entered history under the name Albigensian Wars. Then passions were running high around Albi; it stood at the center of a large political game. Then the papal legate Amalric uttered the famous phrase that added to the cabinets of curiosities of examples of ruthless fanaticism: “Kill them all; God will recognize his own.” By the way, this formula—“God will recognize his own”—is quite a fitting title for a detective story. And if you replace the Lord with his eternal enemy, it would do for this novel by Exbray as well.