This was one of the best detective stories I ever read.

Author manages to write in a such a intriguing way that reader just cannot put the book down. Switching from the titular Alex's story-line to detective Camille's and his team was written in a way that momentum is never lost, reader is not bombarded with filler-only chapters which I appreciate very much. Every chapter has its purpose and, man, there are so many twists. Dialogue and characters are excellent - entire detective team comes out so tightly knit, it's like they are married :) Ways different personalities are described - trust me it will make you laugh every so often. Every pettiness that you can expect from people - it's present here. This makes all characters grounded and realistic.

I wont go into story details here but this is one of those books that are so impactful that re-read needs to take place after couple of years (what I call Sixth Sense syndrome). This is the only downside for me.

This being first book I read about detective Camille I am on a lookout for more (apparently it is a trilogy). Camille proudly takes his place in elite group of eccentric and very capable detectives. It is a joy to watch him as he fights his battles with his superiors, subordinates, trying to keep calm when encountering the worst that people can do and generally gets annoyed when he is lied to or when he needs to do something he things is beneath him. He is so well described that you truly start to worry about him during his dark hours when he needs to fight daemons from his past.

And Camille is just at the head of very interesting set of characters - criminals and cops - from this novel.

Highly recommended. Even if you are not in detective novels and police procedurals give this one a shot - I have a feeling you will like it :) ( )

A la sortie d’un restaurant, Alex est enlevée. Appelée par un témoin, la police ne sait ni qui elle est, ni où elle a été emmenée, ni par qui. Un thriller tendu, particulièrement rude, qui sait surprendre le lecteur tant par ses personnages que ses rebondissements. Un policier bien loin des romans historiques auquel l’auteur nous avait habitués, mais où l’on retrouve son art de la description des caractères et des situations. ( )

Alex is one of a series of novels about Parisian detective Camille Verhoeven. Verhoeven is a diminutive, combative figure, still getting over the death of his wife. Against his will, he is assigned to investigate the kidnapping of a mysterious young woman in broad daylight.

As Verhoeven struggles to progress the investigation, or even identify the victim, the girl - Alex - is subjected to torture and an impending death in horrific circumstances. Verhoeven's feelings conflating the girl's potential fate and that of his wife seem to be hindering his progrss, to the annoyance of the supervising magistrate.

To go any further would be to reveal some of the splendid twists and turns in what is a gripping, enthralling and macabre novel. Lemaitre takes the reader on a ride where you are never quite sure what to make of the key figures in the case, and draws you in deeper and deeper until the grim explanation for the kidnapping is revealed.

Alex is the second novel in the Verhoeven series. It is very irritating that, for some inexplicable reason, Lemaitre's English language publishers have chosen to publish it first. At various points in this book, the author gives away most of the plot of the first book, Irene. Bad luck if you plan on reading both. If you get the chance, make sure you read Irene first, but don't miss reading Alex. ( )

An extraordinarily chilling and disturbing novel based in Paris that changes track in the police investigation at various points, changes that make for surprising turns. The main characters, Alex, the initial kidnap victim, and Commandant Camille Verhoeven, the police inspector, are both drawn as very strong individuals who are determined to succeed in their aims. At first the investigation into Alex’s kidnapping appears fairly routine, but suddenly, there appears to be some hidden reason for the crime and the story veers away on to a different track which gives a difference and freshness from may others of a similar type. With an involving set of other individual characters in the book, Lemaitre’s novel makes for a riveting read.

Noir ( )