Mortal Ambitions

Dimitri Boizot #1

by Patrick Philippart, Patrick F. Brown (Translator)

When divorced, down-on-his-luck journalist Dimitri Boizot leaves Paris for a vacation in Brittany, he expects little more than some time to relax. But when the suave politician vacationing next door becomes the victim of a robbery―and kills the intruder in self-defense―Boizot gets an unexpected scoop. As Boizot dives into the investigation, however, it’s clear the politician isn’t telling the whole truth. Worse, the police can’t identify the thief’s dead body but seem willing to close the case anyway. As Boizot scrambles to uncover the true motives behind the crime, he reveals hints of a monstrous cover-up involving a French mining company with shadowy dealings in Africa. Soon, the journalist is scoring his biggest headlines ever and getting cozy with a mysterious blonde who could be part of the conspiracy. As his editor begs for more revelations, and as the dead bodies continue to pile up, Boizot must decide whom he can trust―and how much he’s willing to risk to get the real story.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

266 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2012

About the author

Patrick Philippart is a Belgian journalist and the author of numerous books, including several featuring Dimitri Boizot, a down-on-his-luck Parisian journalist with a knack for solving intricate crimes. Philippart is passionate about writing and reading, and his favorite authors include Céline, Daniel Pennac, Romain Gary, John Irving, and Philip Roth. He lives in Liège, Belgium, where he is currently at work on a new Dimitri Boizot novel.

Reviews

[Maritxu · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup aimé l'histoire, pleine de rebondissements et qui tient bien la route. On s'attache également à cet anti-héros qu'est le journaliste qui mène l'enquête. Malgré tout, un sentiment étrange m'a accompagnée tout au long de ma lecture, et m'a dérangée : un sentiment permanent que tous les protagonistes étaient non seulement bien plus âgés que la réalité, mais aussi que l'histoire se déroulait bien avant les années 2000 (malgré, tout de même, la présence vague de téléphones portables). Je pense que les prénoms y sont pour quelque chose, mais également la façon de s'exprimer des personnages, ainsi que l'absence de techniques ou recherches liées à internet. Pourtant si on recoupe plusieurs éléments, l'intrigue semble se situer plutôt au début des années 2010. Bref, c'est sans doute un détail, mais cela m'a gênée dans ma projection mentale dans l'histoire. Je pense néanmoins que je lirai le deuxième volet des enquêtes de ce journaliste, c'était vraiment un bon roman.

[Sandrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une chouette découverte que ce petit polar. L'écriture est agréable et l'intrigue tient la route.
L'enquête est menée par un journaliste, c'est plutôt sympa.
L'intrigue nous tient en haleine même si nous sommes loin des gros thrillers qui "tachent". Bref, c'est très agréable à lire d'autant que ça se lit plutôt vite.
Je déplore toutefois les qualificatifs grossophobes employés pour un des personnages féminins...

[Karine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un livre à tiroir, bien compliqué et bien écrit... Je vais en lire d'autres de la même série, c'est sûr !

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un polar qui tient la route mais qui est cependant très factuel.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first reads mystery starts off in the early morning hours when a vacationing journalist, suffering a bout of insomnia, is sitting on a balcony smoking a cigarette and sipping some wine. Suddenly, the quite is broken by what sounds like a gunshot. Fifteen minutes later there is another shot and then the quiet of early morning returns and he goes back to bed. When he awakes there are police at the house next door and being a journalist he heads over to get his foot in the news door first. Seems the home belongs to a government minister who claims to have startled a burglar whom he shot in the act. The police are satisfied that it is an open and shut case. Our journalist does not like the inconsistencies in the Minister's story and decides to investigate further. He calls his editor in Paris, tells him of the burglary and his misgivings. He is authorized to pursue the case. And thus begins the page turning quest of Dimitri Boizot.

In very short order, Dimitri starts to gather bits of information that begin to form a cluster of dots much like a connect the dots puzzle. The only problem with this puzzle is that, though Dimitri thinks they should form a picture, they seem to be related but cannot seem to be connected. Along the way, he encounters high school classmates of the Minister, a widow of one who is murdered the same night as the burglar but in a different town, the sister of another classmate who died in a car accident years ago. Each of these characters are interesting and move the story along. It is not until the very end of the book that all the scattered dots and bigger pieces fall into place and the back story is revealed. Exciting sleuthing and myriad characters provide a satisfying who dunnit for a lazy snowy day and evening.

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

When divorced, down-on-his-luck journalist Dimitri Boizot leaves Paris for a vacation in Brittany, he expects little more than some time to relax. But when the suave politician vacationing next door becomes the victim of a robbery—and kills the intruder in self-defense—Boizot gets an unexpected scoop.
As Boizot dives into the investigation, however, it’s clear the politician isn’t telling the whole truth. Worse, the police can’t identify the thief’s dead body but seem willing to close the case anyway. As Boizot scrambles to uncover the true motives behind the crime, he reveals hints of a monstrous cover-up involving a French mining company with shadowy dealings in Africa.
Soon, the journalist is scoring his biggest headlines ever and getting cozy with a mysterious blonde who could be part of the conspiracy. As his editor begs for more revelations, and as the dead bodies continue to pile up, Boizot must decide whom he can trust—and how much he’s willing to risk to get the real story.

I have to say - there isn't a lot to write about this novel except that it ticks pretty much every box that I have for a crime/thriller novel:

Believable main character - preferably not from the police force;
Gorgeous locations;
Cover-ups / conspiracies;
Well-paced, with ebb and flow;
Want to read more...

The only minor thing that let this down was, I think, the translation. Just every now and then, there seemed to be a word or phrase that made me pause to consider and I lost a bot of the flow of the novel.

Otherwise, a really good crime investigation novel and one that I do recommend!!


Paul
ARH

[Cluny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great new French mystery author has been introduced to the English reading public in this, the first translated book in the Dimitri Boizot"" series, MORTAL AMBITIONS.. Dimitri is considered a mediocre journalist in his profession by his peers and superiors. Divorced, hard drinking, and a chain smoker, he is away from Paris on vacation at a friend's holiday home when one late one evening he hears gunshots coming from the house next door. The prominent resident of the house claims that he confronted and shot an unidentified intruder/burglar. Dimitri sees a possible great story as the story that his neighbor told the police was false. Dimitri knows that there were two gunshots fired ten minutes apart and at a different time than what the neighbor reported.....things unfold from here .

This is a logical, well structured, well paced story with a protagonist that it makes total sense as an investigator. I anticipated more in this series being translated.

Character development 4.25 out of 5
Writing/Translation 5.0 out of 5
Pacing 4.75 out of 5

Book Average 4.8 out of 5

Full Disclosure: eArc was provided courtesy of publisher without any recompense nor review content expectations

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley. Thank you, Amazon Publishing!
This is my first Dimitri Boizot mystery. It was a little convoluted and at times I was confused by the relationships between the numerous characters and plot lines. It's a little unfeasible that all the witnesses called a journalist instead of the police, but the story is intriguing and the main characters smart. I also liked the descriptions of the French countryside. Some of the story lines go nowhere and the ending feels rushed but, over all, Mortal Ambitions is an entertaining crime novel.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and thought that the translation was seamless. Sometimes you really know that you are reading something that has been translated, not here.

Boizot is a typical investigator with all the usual traits; drinking, smoking, messy life and relationships....yet with all of that one dives right into the investigation with him and roots for something good to happen for him. And it does, and I wish that the final paragraph had been deleted.

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid. Reminds me of the old Audrey Hepburn films where there is crime to be solved.

[Lydia Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting character. Thought it needed a little more....something. I'll probably give Boizot another go though.

[Jessica Sanford · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad, but hard to get into.

[Melody-rose Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think a lot of this book was lost in translation, so it was hard to get into.

[William Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. Didn't really click with it.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's translated from French. A good story, but apparently "judge" means someone other than the person in the courthouse.