Thurber House Evenings with Authors will welcome Louis Bayard at the Columbus School for Girls, 56 S. Columbia Ave., 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Sept. 19. He will read from his new historical thriller, The Black Tower, a mystery set in Paris in 1818.

The author of Mr. Timothy, a New York Times Notable Book and the bestselling The Pale Blue Eye, both nominated for the Edgar and Dagger awards, Bayard, in The Black Tower, recreates Paris following the fall of Napoleon and the return of the Bourbon monarchy.

This is a time when memories of the French Revolution still linger in the minds of those who were touched by its violence and political intrigue. Stepping out of the pages of French history and into this scene is the real-life French detective and father of modern forensic detection, Eugène François Vidocq.

Once a criminal himself, Vidocq understands the criminal mind all too well. Now a detective for the Parisian police, he is hot on the trail of vicious assassins and thieves as he unravels the tantalizing mystery surrounding the fate of Louis-Charles, the lost son of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI. The dauphin had died in the black tower from which there was no escape—or had he? Vidocq pursues the truth all the way to a shocking conclusion, as the cast of suspects grows to include duchesses, marquises, counts and even King Louis XVIII.

Following the reading, Bayard will take questions and sign books that will be available for purchase. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, with discounts for students and seniors. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 614-464-1032 or visit www.thurberhouse.org.