With “A tenant so discreet”, the young Frenchwoman signs a thrilling first thriller. A best-seller written directly… in English!
The French are not surprised that foreign authors, from Milan Kundera to Andreï Makine, adopt the language of Molière. But no one could have imagined that a native of Nogent-sur-Marne, having grown up in the Paris region, would successfully tread the American criminal borders. By writing, what’s more, in the language of Shakespeare. “I like the English language, even if we often have a utilitarian vision of it when we learn it at school: it is that of business, of employment… I find that it has a beautiful musicality , a nice rhythm, we can have fun with it,” explains Clémence Michallon, passing through Paris. A cultural journalist for several independent media across the Atlantic, the 33-year-old young woman has been immersed in the Anglo-Saxon world since childhood. Her father, a lawyer, very early on introduced her to the subtleties of this tool which he considered essential for her future and that of her sister.
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As a family, little Clémence traveled the length and breadth of the United States during the holidays and read her first novels in the original version at the age of 10. A double master's degree in journalism, then a study trip to Columbia University concluded by a happy marriage with a handsome American, and here is our defector ready for the romantic feat, ten years after his arrival in New York: 170,000 copies sold for his thriller, in already 30 countries…
Still needed a good story. Here, that of May Mitchell, a teenager kidnapped by a serial killer. Detained first in a cabin, sensing her possible death at any moment, the one that the predator has renamed Rachel has been playing for her survival every day for five years, in the very lair of her captor. Because the latter, having become a widower, had to move and is now keeping her incommunicado at home, where Cecilia, his teenage daughter, lives. An orphan who wonders why her father had the crazy idea of taking in this strange woman. At the same time, in this town in the Hudson Valley, Emily, a lovesick barmaid, falls under the spell of the bachelor with unsuspected behavior. “It was exciting to bring together this choir of female voices,” continues Clémence Michallon. It allowed me to show all sides of the killer without giving him a voice. Everyone has information about themselves that others do not have access to. »
A book written during confinement
Her book, written during the Covid-19 pandemic, while she was stuck at her in-laws' country house, was inspired by a documentary about psychopathic killer Ted Bundy. Or, more precisely, on the testimonial book of his wife, the first to have doubted her husband after the diffusion of his sketch. But his warnings were not taken seriously, because Mr. Bundy looked like a citizen like any other. “Often, when a man is accused of rape or murder, his first excuse is: “But I have a wife, I have a daughter!” However, that in no way prevents these atrocious acts. I don't believe in the monster. These major criminals are above all ordinary people. »
The author, on the other hand, does not risk being a victim of anonymity. Especially since Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of “Experts”, will soon adapt his book into a series. However, there is no question of the new American citizen resting on her laurels. Rather, she completes a thriller set in a remote Utah hotel. A story where we will see suspicion poison the relations between a sister and a brother who grew up in a sect. There is no doubt that, once again, Clémence Michallon will be able to thrill everyone.
“Such a discreet tenant”, by Clémence Michallon, ed. Fayard, 450 pages, 23 euros.
© DR
