Crime novel set in Paris (The power of books)

• Book: Irene
• Location: Paris
• Author: Pierre Lemaitre

Review Author: tripfiction

Author Pierre Lemaitre is a relative newcomer in the UK to the genre crime thriller set in Europe – excellently translated into English by Frank Wynne. His main character Commandant Camille Verhoeven is a flawed, very determined yet physically challenged DCI who supervises members of the Brigade Criminelle in Paris.

It is not a novel for the faint hearted, it is truly GRUESOME in parts, and the imagination of the author runs riot, splattering his readers with gore, visceral body bits and murderous drive. It is a prequel to Alex which we reviewed when it was first published in the UK. It is indeed strange that Alex was published first because it gives quite an indication of what is to come in this, the sequel, Irene; there are references to Verhoeven’s change in personal circumstance, and that knowledge without doubt did detract from the impact of this novel. Unfortunate that. Therefore do read Irene first and Alex second.

The concept of the plot is a brilliant one. A murderer is on the loose who with great attention to detail seems to be recreating murder scenes from some of the great horror novels, American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis for one – to Camille and his superiors this feels hugely sinister and surely that can’t be for real? But if this is the case, where might a murderer be going with such an elaborate plan?

The mutilation of women in the book is hard going, yes, it is bloody and sickening. There are elaborate and visceral descriptions that are a challenge to the reader. But it finds its stride and comes full circle to a reasonably satisfying conclusion.

In the novel it would have been fascinating to have a psychological profile as to why the murderer embarked on this path, what his personal experience might have been that turned him into such a flamboyant and theatrical stager of death. And that perhaps is a subject worthy of another LeMaitre novel.

So, to round off… we were so struck by these covers, which are REALLY eye-catching, vraiement non? So we asked the publishers Maclehose to give us a little background about how they evolved. Their response is on our blog.

Back to book