Frederic Dard is a master of noir novels, one of France's best known and best loved crime writers. He published nearly 300 novels, selling over 200 million copies in France alone. Also a famous inventor of words, he dreamt up so many words and phrases that a special dictionary was recently published to list them all. His most famous character was a French secret agent, but this dark psychological thriller written in his prime, stands alone.
Jean-Marie has a chance encounter with a beautiful English woman on the Cote d'Azur - again that night at the casino. They begin a feverish romance, and he is so entranced he follows behind when she returns to Edinburgh. Although married, she sends him love notes and they steal clandestine meetings. The question of what to do about her husband is solved when he discovers them in a park, the husband standing over the lovers holding a gun, but it's the husband who ends up getting shot. After they flee and split up, Jean-Marie wanders the unfamiliar streets, even approaching the park where they had left the body, still facedown on the grass. Meeting up later, Jean-Marie discovers the story has changed, as Marjorie has called the police - a strange man has killed her husband! Jean-Marie is arrested - thrown headlong into a maze of passion, betrayal, and deception - not only without alibi, but all clues leading to him.
This was a clever puzzle, a quick read that was hard to put down. I didn't find it covered any new ground, in fact, I would have thought it written in the 30's instead of 1952, as it was slightly simple. An unhappy woman seduces a man into a web of murderous lies - it's as dark and broody as you hope it to be, well crafted and entertaining. The characters were good, but it's mostly about the puzzle.
Several of Dard's titles are being published again, and I look forward to more of his writing.
My other reviews for Frederic Dard:
1952 / Tradeback / 154 pages
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