From Olivier Truc to James Ellroy, via Ian Manook and Michael Connelly, the thriller continues to probe society. A literary genre in its own right, the thriller grows more and more each year. Like any selection, this choice is necessarily subjective and not exhaustive.
“The first reindeer” by Olivier Tip: As long as there are men
Ecology, economy, traditions, discrimination… Olivier Truc’s latest book, The first reindeer (Métailié editions), is of great ambition. The novelist shows us behind the postcard. In addition to the change of scenery, he captures the madness of men seized by immediate profit. The captivating narrative offers immersion into a population fighting for survival. The misfortune of the Sami people, reindeer herders, is to own rare earths which retain metals coveted by high-tech companies. And so it is in Lapland, at the height of the fawn marking season, that a herd of reindeer is decimated. Nina Nansen and Klemet Nango, investigators from the Rennes police, gradually discover all the ramifications of a case like no other. Olivier Truc gives us a huge gift with the character of Anja, the woman who refuses fate. A brilliant thriller.
“The first reindeer”, Olivier Truc, Métailié editions, 22 euros
“The Enchanters” : James Ellroy doesn’t like Marilyn Monroe
James Ellroy is this American writer who insists on seeing ugliness, darkness, in beauty. And darkness into light. Nothing escapes his skepticism. Nor anyone. In his latest novel, The enchanters (Payot and Rivages), he attacks Marilyn Monroe. And the bazooka. Third part of the Los Angeles Quintet (after Treachery et The coming storm), The enchanters bears all the obsessions of its author : conspiracies at all levels, corrupt police submissive to politics, blackmail, shady, useful and inaccessible characters, all in a country deserted by innocence. It’s August 4 in Los Angeles. Marilyn Monroe has just died of an overdose at her home. Gwen Perloff, a B-movie actress, is kidnapped under strange circumstances. To lead the investigation, Freddy Otash, an unsavory character. The enchanters or the great disillusionment. Signed James Ellroy.
“The Enchanters”, James Ellroy, translated by Sophie Aslanides and Séverine Weiss, Rivages et Payot, 26 euros
“Without a shadow of a doubt” de Michael Connelly : the big reunion
The author of Poet has the regularity of a metronome, one book per year. And formidable efficiency. Michael Connelly has portrayed, throughout his career, four endearing characters: Inspector Harry Bosch, his half-brother Mickey Haller, the rock’n’roll lawyer who works from his Lincoln, Eleanor Wish, agent of the FBI, ex-wife of LAPD detective, and police officer Renée Ballard. From time to time he has fun bringing together the accomplice duo but everything separates : the lawyer and the policeman. Without a shadow of a doubt(Calmann-Levy) is a meticulous dive into the American justice system. Mickey Haller hires his retired half-brother to help exonerate a mother accused of killing her ex-husband, a sheriff’s deputy. Harry Bosch must face silence and hostility from his former colleagues. Without a shadow of a doubtis also a sharp criticism of American society.
“Without a shadow of a doubt”, Michael Connelly, translated by Robert Pépin, Calmann-Lévy, 22.90 euros
“The Lousy Massacre” by Ian Manook : dream too big
With his alert, refined, slightly disenchanted and nervous writing, Ian Manook plunges the reader into the 1960s. With a sense of formula that clicks, he describes the thwarted ambitions of a man who wants to escape his condition. social and his geographical environment, of a man who dreams too big for his HLM. In this initiatory dark novel written in the first person, The lousy massacrer (published by La Manufacture de Livres), Ian Manook attacks social determinism and exposes the mechanisms of exclusion. “My name is Sorb, it’s short for Sorbonne. Those in the gang gave me this nickname because they think I’m more educated than them.”. The gang is having fun, rowdy, bored. Then an accident happens : a woman dies because of one of their own. The descent into hell begins. Captivating.
“The lousy massacrer”, Ian Manook, The book factory, 18.90 euros
“Room 505”: the Viveca Sten mechanics
The Swedish author is an extraordinary storyteller. In his latest novel, Room 505 (Albin Michel editions), it installs a double narration which makes the work addictive. This time, Viveca Sten tackles violence against women. The plot begins with a feminicide in a luxury hotel. A businesswoman, the victim was about to launch a major real estate project. Grievous crime or assassination linked to economic interests ? To lead the investigation, Hanna and Daniel, a recurring and very endearing duo. In this atmospheric thriller there is a suffocating atmosphere. The back and forth between the past and the present gives a particular density to this novel which explores male-female relationships before and after #MeToo. The author takes the time to develop the characters and does not hesitate to expose their flaws. Addictive.
“Room 505″ Viveca Sten, translation by Amanda Postel and Anna Postel, Albin Michel, 21.90 euros
“Queen in New York” by Marine Béliard : for the love of Elva
Everything changed on October 6, 1989. Joaquin woke up in his apartment after a night of drunkenness. On the phone, a former colleague tells him of the death of Elva, the legendary singer of the New York group A Queen in New York by overdose. The day before the star, who had nevertheless stopped using heroin, took a fatal fix. Joaquin and Elva shared an exceptional friendship story. The former NYPD cop refuses this death and leads his own investigation, going back into the past to try to understand. With her fluid, nervous pen, Marine Béliard immerses us in America in the 80s and the cultural excitement of New York. Released last May, Queen in New York reads in one go. What have friendships become? ? And the dreams of youth ? And the ideals ? Queen in New York, an essential dark novel.
“Queen in New York”, Marine Béliard, Payot and Rivages, 21 euros
“The Island” : the temptation Jérôme Loubry
Jérôme Loubry was eagerly awaited after The song of silence, an intimate and social noir novel that questions kinship and the environment. The writer returns with an atmospheric thriller, The Island (Calmann-Lévy), with breathtaking suspense. The author refines with a scalpel the psychology of the characters, all of whom are complex. Thanks to almost cinematographic writing, Jérôme Loubry takes us to the island of Porquerolles five years after the death of Diane, a music lover who left too soon. All the victim’s friends are there. Julien, Diane’s companion, intends to take advantage of this opportunity to probe hearts and souls. The truth has a price, often a very expensive one. The lie too. What to say about secrets ? Deadly are the reunions. Jérôme Loubry confirms book after book, if necessary, that he is a pen that counts in the French noir novel. Formidable.
“The Island”, Jérôme Loubry, Calmann-Lévy, 21.90 euros
“Cartel 1011: The Builders”: the crazy ambition of Mattias Köping
It begins to strike : “At first there was nothing.” Mattias Köping embarks on a titanic undertaking : a trilogy on the gargantuan appetites of the cartels. In this first part, Cartel 1011 : The Builders (Gallimard), it narrates the excessive ambitions of the Hernandez Clan, and its repercussions in Europe. We are not far from the breath and complexity of Narcos. The author of The Demoniacs has attention to detail, his secondary characters have depth. The book, a 623-page book, reads like an adventure novel, violence permeates every page. In the era of the global village, each act takes on an international dimension. Lives are crushed by immediate profits and the wars between clans for control of all traffic. “Because no one builds a new empire without destroying the previous ones “. Exciting.
“Cartel 1011 : The Builders”Mattias Köping, Flammarion, 23 euros
“This kingdom is dark”: Raphaël Le Scouarnec shoots
Raphaël Le Scouarnec writes in bursts, he bombards his readers with short, nervous sentences, as if time was running out. As if a vital emergency gripped all the characters. Death, unlike hope, is never far away. Everything moves very quickly in this city asleep in a false torpor. The Riviera sun poorly hides rivalries, voracious ambitions, simmering hatreds and the desire for revenge fueled by a vivid memory that denies forgetfulness in the present. Two families are torn apart, after having been very close for a long time. Lives are crushed, sacrificed. Something is rotten in this dark realm. Raphaël Le Scouarnec takes the reader, at high speed, into the eye of a storm. Dizzy.
“This kingdom is dark”, Raphaël Le Scouarnec, L’Orpailleur, 22 euros
“Milo” by Laurent Combalbert: at the end of the suspense
Espionage, organized crime, geopolitics… Milo is a train launched at high speed. A surgeon member of an NGO is kidnapped in Port-au-Prince, the devastated capital of Haiti. An important trial depends on his release. Who to embark on a desperate attempt to save her ? The negotiator Stanislas Monville, the author’s alter ego, is a man who normally avoids mixing personal and professional affairs. Normally. With an alert pen, Laurent Combalbert describes a sprawling and complex operation, a race against time worthy of a spy film. Suspense guaranteed.
“Milo”, Laurent Combalbert, Calmann-Lévy, 21.50 euros
