Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "pierre-lemaitre"

Irène by Pierre Lemaitre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


'Irène' (originally 'Travail Soigné') is Pierre Lemaitre's debut novel and the first to feature Commandant Camille Verhœven. It is a dark and brutal novel, following Verhœven's investigation into multiple murders committed by a killer who becomes known as the Novelist.

We meet Camille as he interviews a victim of violent crime, before he receives a call from one of his officers - two young woman have been brutally murdered and dismembered, and the crime scene is unlike anything the team have encountered before. Shocked by the level of violence and bloodshed, the team painstakingly analyse the evidence and follow the leads, reaching numerous dead-ends. The killer is proving to be elusive, devious and clever; Camille is convinced he will kill again and has killed before. A fake fingerprint, deliberately left at the scene, soon leads them to another brutal murder committed eighteen months previously. It is in this crime that Camille recognises the killer's MO - he is recreating murders that have taken place in novels.

We are also introduced to Camille's private life - his wife Irène is heavily pregnant with their first child. Camille's growing focus on the case begins to put a strain on their relationship, not to mention his already strained relationship with his father.

The French judicial system is vastly different to that in the United Kingdom - the lead investigator and his superiors answer to an appointed juge d'instruction, who manages the investigation. Nevertheless, Camille proves to be somewhat a maverick, approaching the killer directly via a personal ad to encourage him to talk about his work and draw him out. The pressure of the case soon takes its toll, with press intrusion mounting and the discovery of more victims, threatening to spill over into Camille's own life.

Written with detailed precision, 'Irène' is fast-paced, gripping and an instant classic. It felt reminiscent of 'Messiah' (both Boris Starling's novel and the TV series starring Ken Stott), in its brutality, its dark atmosphere and its intrusion into the investigating team's personal lives. As a lover of crime fiction, Lemaitre and the killer's tributes to murders in crime novels, as well as the investigation into the possibility of more imitations, were thrilling - dealt with expertly so as to contribute to the novel's plot and the killer's psychology rather than detract from it.

With a fantastic twist, rocketing towards a brutal, shocking conclusion, 'Irène' is a superb thriller that stays with you long after the final page and leaves you wanting more - it shan't be long before I pick up the second novel, 'Alex', and delve into Camille Verhœven's world once again.



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Alex by Pierre Lemaitre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Commandant Camille Verhœven returns in another dark and gripping thriller from Pierre Lemaitre, following 'Irène', the first in the series.

'Alex' (also originally Alex in the French language) tells the story of Alex Prévost. Assaulted and kidnapped, she is trapped in a cage by her attacker, who tells her he wishes to watch her die. Assigned to the case against his will, it proves too close to home for Camille, still haunted by his personal demons. As he and his team close in on the kidnapper, the hunt becomes a race against time to save Alex's life.

With the discovery of a corpse, the case is soon turned on its head and Camille finds himself on the hunt for a clever, brutal serial murderer, who is always one step ahead.

Psychologically compelling and fast-paced, with multiple twists, 'Alex' grips from the opening pages to the last. The two central characters, Alex and Camille, are brilliantly portrayed. With 'Irène' and 'Alex', Lemaitre is fast becoming one of my favourite authors - 'Alex' is a superb addition to the Camille Verhœven series and I cannot wait to delve into the third novel 'Camille'.



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Camille by Pierre Lemaitre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The final instalment in Pierre Lemaitre’s deliciously dark trilogy featuring Camille Verhœven.

Still haunted by the losses of his past, Camille finds himself drawn into the investigation of an armed robbery at a jeweller's, in which his new romantic partner, Anne Forestier, was brutally assaulted. It soon becomes apparent to Camille that the gunman is determined to leave no loose ends and that Anne, broken and scarred in hospital, is in danger.

Abandoning protocol and diving deeper and deeper into a situation from which he may not be able to extricate himself, Camille discovers he may be willing to go to any lengths to protect the woman he loves and avoid history repeating itself.

Set across three anxious days, a race against time ensues, Camille as determined to keep Anne safe as the gunman is to silence her.

Written in the same psychologically compelling style as 'Irène' and 'Alex' before it, highly descriptive and packed with action, 'Camille' immerses you once more in Camille's dark and tortured world; his ghosts circling around him, which may prove to be either his undoing or his redemption. Camille is a superb character - a dedicated and brilliant detective, while carrying his guilt and his emotion like a cross. Lemaitre has crafted a trilogy that perfectly balances the psychological depth, procedural detail, personal strife and action sequences, so finely written that the novels read like works of dark art.

Concluding with several twists and personal challenges for Camille, 'Camille' is a gripping and luxurious novel and a superb conclusion to the trilogy.

In addition to the trilogy of novels, Camille also features in the novella 'Rosy and John' (the English translation, thus far, is only available in ebook and audio), and I would greatly welcome a further return to his world in the future.



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Rosy & John by Pierre Lemaitre

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A short, sharp thriller with a delicious twist.

A bomb is detonated on a Paris street, luckily resulting in no fatalities and only minor injuries.

The bomber hands himself in to the police, claiming there are six more bombs planted around the city. He says he will cooperate, but with one stipulation - he will only talk to Camille Verhœven.

Temporarily assigned the case, Verhœven listens to the bomber's demands. With the clock ticking down to the next detonation, Camille and the team find themselves trapped in a race against time to prevent further calamity.

'Rosy and John', a companion novella to Pierre Lemaitre’s trilogy of novels featuring Commandant Camille Verhœven, is an intense, fast-paced thriller, told from the dual perspectives of the police investigating the case and the bomber himself – packing elements of both police procedural and psychological thriller into a tightly woven narrative, events spread across a period of only three days.

I loved ‘Irène’, ‘Alex’ and ‘Camille’, and ‘Rosy and John’ is a thrilling addition to the trilogy. Set between the events in the second and third novels - 'Alex' and 'Camille' - the novella is intensely plot-driven, capitalising on the series’ earlier character development to focus on events, building the suspense as the clock counts down to the final revelation. Including spoilers for the first two novels and also subtlely foreshadowing the third novel, I would recommend reading them in either publication or chronological order and to avoid starting with this story.

Thoroughly gripping and entertaining, ‘Rosy and John’ is a relentless police thriller and a welcome return to the world of Camille Verhœven.



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