ROSY & JOHN

A short story from award winning crime writer Pierre Lemaitre featuring Camille Verhoeven - yep I was sold! Capturing Camille's fine eye to detail this is a sharp piece of crime fiction with some black humour and a gleeful end. The time pressures of the bombs create tension in the script and the shrewd Camille is aware that the information presented is far from being the whole picture.For me, this was an impressive short story, a quick read with a well thought out plot. So yes I liked it, however having read a lot of Pierre Lemaitre I do think his strength is in the comprehensive plot, terrific twists and the gruesome detail and in a short story this cannot all be present. There was some classic Lemaitre gore and shock and while recommended, especially with the familiar characters from the Irene trilogy, this is a short, crime specific story, sharp and witty with a solid finale. Great holiday reading - especially as currently it is only available as an E Book.

I love LeMaitre’s books. The plots are always intriguing and the characters strong, believable and captivating. My main criticism of this was that it was far too short. I was enjoying it so much and it ended.Camille the fascinating detective is back and he’s got a race against time to detect the whereabouts of bombs that have been planted in Paris. The perpetrator, John, has been arrested and Camille has to use his immense skills to obtain the relevant information to prevent people being killed.Easily read in one sitting, this is worth reading.

I gave up reading this due to the appalling grammar and apparent absence of proofreading. How is it possible that the translator/ publisher does not know how to correctly use commas or participle clauses? This really spoilt the flow of the text and made it hugely frustrating; and ultimately, not worth persevering with despite its short length. Infuriating.

It's competently written in terms of language and style (if you can oversee the odd wise cracks), but it is basically a straight route from A to B, with no surprises, and everything put on one single card: the suspense of bomb threats. But the suspense wear a bit thin after a while when there are so few diversions, fresh ideas or twists, and no sub plots (other than the text message conversation between the policeman and his needy dame). The ending gets obvious well before the actual scene. The story lacks depth and the psychology is just too plain and not developped.

Another brilliant read from Lemaitre.Only 140 pages but storyline original,very interesting and features thewonderful amusing Camille Verhoeven investigating.