Book description
In the late 1600s, Louis XIV assigns Nicolas de la Reynie to bring order to the city of Paris after the brutal deaths of two magistrates. Reynie, pragmatic yet fearless, tackles the dirty and terrifying streets only to discover a tightly knit network of witches, poisoners and priests whose reach…
Why read it?
1 author picked City of Light, City of Poison as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I grabbed this historical true crime nonfiction book in order to conduct research for one of my own projects.
This book is about the rampant crime in 1600s Paris and, by extension, the Affair of the Poisons and Louis, The Sun King’s, solution. The king’s solution was to hire a police chief, La Reynie, to bring peace to the city streets. La Reynie ordered candles put in every window in the belief that the light would deter the criminal element, thus creating the City of Lights.
La Reynie was also the central investigator in the Affair of the Poisons and…
From Michelle's list on The best books for traveling back in time.
If you love City of Light, City of Poison...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like City of Light, City of Poison?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 30 books like City of Light, City of Poison.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
219
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like City of Light, City of Poison, you might also like...
Christmas Actually
Every picture tells a story, but it’s not always the one we expect or remember. Christmas Actually is a festive drama about family and forgiveness and a snapshot of modern family life, addressing Instagram to motherhood and everything in between.
Why Christmas? My publisher wanted my new novel to have…
The Shift
In this New York Times best-selling book, Theresa Brown, nurse and writer, invites us to experience not just a day in the life of a nurse but all the life that happens in just one day in a busy teaching hospital’s cancer ward.
In the span of twelve hours, lives…
