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DEATH ON THE MARAIS
by Adrian Magson
Allison & Busby, September 2010
384 pages
19.99 GBP
ISBN: 0749008342


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

As part of a new nationwide initiative to broaden police operations, Inspector Lucas Rocco finds himself in the backwater of Poissons-Les-Marais, a depressed area of Picardie. He much prefers the backstreets of Paris to the stagnant pools of the marais and he's expecting very little in the way of excitement or interest in such a rural location but on his first day, a woman is found dead in a British military cemetery wearing a Nazi uniform. Before Rocco's investigation has even started, the woman's body is precipitously released to her next-of-kin and it is clear to Rocco that someone doesn't want him taking any further interest in the case.

Rocco traces the dead girl's family to an expensive suburb of Paris and becomes even more suspicious when her father, Phillipe Bayer-Berbier, a war hero and prominent businessman, denies all knowledge of her death to start with, claiming he had only spoken to her the previous day, when it was clear to Rocco that she had been dead longer than that. He's warned off this line of enquiry in no uncertain terms by his superiors, including his old Army commanding officer, now police Commissaire, Francois Massin who has no reason to love Rocco for reasons dating back to their days in military service together in Indochina.

Possions-Les-Marais quickly turns out to be anything other than a quiet posting to the country and Rocco is soon caught up in a dangerous web that pervades the whole village, also linking back to Bayer-Berbier's wartime activities in the Special Operations Executive.

Magson's first book in what will hopefully become a series is set in 1963, and he does a good job of grounding the book in the period without any heavy-handed scene setting. The village and its inhabitants rapidly come alive. Magson's supporting cast of characters are well-drawn, some – such as Claude Lamotte, the local policeman Rocco finds himself working with – are likeable, others – scrap dealer, Didier Marthe, with his habit of attempting to disarm unexploded bombs and hand-grenades for their metal – are less so. The book has an authentic French feel about it, one that is achieved by far more than the all-too-usual device of passing references to cigarettes and food. Magson has a nice habit of recapping the plot at times, which I found helpful rather than intrusive, although the book never becomes impenetrable. The climax, when it comes, is explosive in more ways than one, and Magson skillfully draws the various threads of his story together in a very satisfactory manner.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next appearance of Lucas Rocco.

§ Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.

Reviewed by Linda Wilson, February 2011

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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