The convicted serial killer Charles Sobhraj arrived in Paris on Christmas eve from Kathmandu, after serving 19 years in prison for the 1975 murders of Connie Jo Bronzich, an American, and her Canadian companion Laurent Carrière. Sobhraj’s nicknames – the Serpent” and the Cobra – refer to his skill at escaping from prison and to the way he changed identities, as a snake sheds its skin. Like a cobra, Sobhraj had an almost hypnotic effect on the men and women he charmed before he drugged, robbed and murdered them. Most were westerners looking for precious gems, spiritual or drug-induced highs...