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DEATH ON THE RIVE NORD
by Adrian Magson
Alison & Busby, April 2012
350 pages
7.99 GBP
ISBN: 0749040637


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Inspector Lucas Rocco is a city cop dispatched from Paris to the supposed quiet of Poissons-Les-Marais in the Picardie countryside as part of a general policing initiative. In Rocco's previous outing, DEATH ON THE MARAIS, Magson wove an atmospheric tale of northern France in the early 1960s, and DEATH ON THE RIVE NORD uses the same setting to extremely good effect, building on the character of Rocco himself, his colleagues and the villagers with whom he shares his daily life.

When a man is found in one of the local canals stabbed to death, it soon becomes obvious that he isn't one of the locals and suspicions are aroused as to the possibility of illegal workers being employed in factories in the region. The problem for Rocco and his colleagues is that of differentiating them from legal Algerian immigrants. That isn't going to be an easy task, and some tact and sensitivity will to be needed, especially when Rocco realizes that his investigation is going to bring him up against a different branch of government with a vested interest in one of the factories. The Ministry of Defence don't like the Interior Ministry meddling with a valued contractor, and that is made quite plain.

Matters become further complicated by the fact that one of the illegal entrants is a woman with a young child, on the run from her husband, Samir Farek, an Algerian gangster who has no intention of letting her get away with leaving him. He has some serious loss of face to resolve and she knows it. Farek also has a much bigger agenda, one that involves establishing himself at the head of the numerous gangs operating in Paris.

This second outing in Lucas Rocco's company is every bit as enjoyable as the first. The setting is as well-depicted as ever, as are the people who surround Rocco, ranging from brutal gang members to a damaged ex-undercover cop. His next door neighbour, an elderly woman who takes more than a passing interest in the inspector's love life – or lack thereof – is a particular joy. It was hard to predict who would survive some genuinely tense encounters in a complex and thoroughly entertaining book that kept me interested and engaged through numerous twists and turns in the back streets of Paris and the somewhat more salubrious, but no less dangerous, countryside around Poissons.

As a main character, Rocco is every bit as strong as Martin Walker's Bruno Courrèges and will, I'm sure, hold a strong appeal to fans of that series as well as anyone who likes their crime stories to come with an authentic sense of place. It's nice to see a book where the setting blends so well with a genuinely good story. I'm extremely glad this has become a series and will certainly be back for the next when it appears.

§ 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, April 2012

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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