Crime Fiction from France

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Ken Follett (Narrator: John Lee). (2007) Fall of Giants. [Audio Book - Unabridged]

The first novel in Follett's Century Trilogy follows the fates of five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage. One of the best Audio Book I have heard so far! Get the unabridged version for a long car trip!

Douglas Starr (2010) The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science.

Carefully researched, articulate, gripping. One of the classics in true crime. A forensic thriller.

Jean-Jacques Fiechter (1998) A Masterpiece of Revenge.

If you like the high art scene this thriller is for you. In Fiechter's masterpiece of revenge, Charles Vermeille, a world-renowned art appraiser is receiving photographs of his beloved only son. The subtle threats of the anonymous sender quickly turn the elegant world of this civilized man into a diabolic nightmare. The fast-paced, wicked plot has more twists and turns than a Swiss mountain road.

Friedrich Glauser (2006) Fever (First published in 1937)

In his third Sergeant Studer mystery, Glauser spins a surreal tale that takes the reader from Paris to Switzerland and Morocco. Studer investigates the deaths of two elderly women in Bern and Basel. Both are killed by gas leaks, both once married to the same man. Written in a unique matter-of-fact style, this European cult classic reveals the fine line between sanity and madness.

Daniel Silva (2013) The English Girl: A Novel.

A beautiful woman (they are never-ever ugly) is snatched from her vacation on Corsica and an unfaithful British prime minister is blackmailed. Art restorer and Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon, sets out to fix the problem. If you are not put off by the stereotypes you may enjoy this pretty good spy thriller.

Georges Simenon (2003) Dirty Snow. (First published in 1950)

Set in occupied France during WWII, Simenon's bleak masterpiece is a dispassionate description of human cruelty. No other writer has achieved the psychological intensity of Simenon. “What many regard as the finest of all noir novels…"--Tim Rutten, The Los Angeles Times

Fred Vargas (2006) The Three Evangelists.

In Fred Vargas' novel you won't find tough detectives or blood-dripping crime scenes. The Three Evangelists, and amateur sleuths, are: Marc, known as Saint-Mark (cleaning lady by day, medievalist by night); Lucien, known as Saint-Luke (historian specializing in the Great War), and Matthias, known as Saint-Matthew (historian specializing in prehistory). Hilariously thrilling.

Marquise de Sade (1996) Crimes of Love.

Defiant, provocative and unconventional. De Sade's best collection of erotic crime.

Michael Bond (2006) Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Militant Housewives.

What can you expect from a story that starts with an exploding coffin at a funeral ceremony, where the main heroes are Paris Surete Inspector Monsieur Pamplemousse and his bloodhound Pommes Frittes, and a CIA agent pretending to be a cuisine chef and experimenting with a dog translator? Hilarious entertainment - especially for young adults.

Robert Irwin (1997) The Mysteries of Algiers.

Disturbing psychological study of a fanatical Marxist in French Algiers during the war of independence from France in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This portrait of a true Marxist believer is highly unsettling.

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