"They tear you apart... They leave no trace..."
Five years out of the Marseilles Judiciaire, Daniel Jacquot is happily retired, bringing up his two daughters on a beach in the Caribbean. But when an old friend pays an unexpected visit, retirement rapidly becomes a battle for survival...
"The girls didn't see the first shark... They didn't see the second or the third one either..."
"They tear you apart... They leave no trace..."
Five years out of the Marseilles Judiciaire, Daniel Jacquot is happily retired, bringing up his two daughters on a beach in the Caribbean. But when an old friend pays an unexpected visit, retirement rapidly becomes a battle for survival...
"The girls didn't see the first shark... They didn't see the second or the third one either..."
In 1972 a gold bullion convoy is hijacked in Marseilles. The security trucks and hijackers are swiftly rounded up, but a ton of gold has disappeared.
More than twenty years later, Daniel Jacquot receives an unexpected gift from an old fisherman. At the same time, a Marseilles lawyer called Claude Dupont receives an equally unexpected gift from a dying gangland boss.
When the Marseilles police become involved following a series of gruesome murders, the investigation is headed by Chief Inspector Isabelle Cassier. An old friend and sometime lover of Jacquot's, Isabelle discovers that the years haven't lessened her longing for the maverick Marseilles cop, and that her feelings for him are far from professional.
Together they embark on a cut-throat hunt for the gold, with hit-men from the Polineaux and Duclos clans hot on their heels. But after nearly thirty years, is the gold still there? And if it is, who will get to it first?
The Jacquot series is set in the 1990s – the years of Mitterand's and Chirac's presidencies – so there's no real emphasis on technology or advanced forensic science to crack the cases Jacquot finds himself involved in. Rather, it's bloodhound work, and he's the bloodhound – passionate, incorruptible, and often inspired.
It's also France with francs not euros, a golden age when you could smoke in a bar and Calvados didn't come with a health warning. Jacquot is not a drunk, but nor is he the kind of man who counts 'units'. What a horrible word. What a horrible concept. Jacquot would not approve.
MARTIN
BRIEN
O'
CONFESSION
Daniel Jacquot knows Marseilles better than most. He ought to, he was born there. And Marseilles knows him, as the rugby hero who once scored the winning try for his country at Twickenham. But now he's a cop – passionate, incorruptible, and often inspired.
When the sixteen-year-old daughter of wealthy Parisian parents – the niece of Marseilles' Chief Examining Magistrate – goes missing, Jacquot is brought in from a dead-end posting in the Lubéron to find her. With no ransom demand forthcoming, the authorities fear the worst.
Working undercover for the first time in his career, Jacquot finds himself in the dark and dangerous underworld of his beloved city, locked in a deadly battle of wits with a woman whose long and unforgiving memory is matched only by her taste for pain.
Reviews
"Martin O’Brien’s books featuring Chief Inspector Jacquot are fast becoming detective classics."
– Crime Squad
"The Marseilles scene seems to be written by a native. O'Brien's ability to deliver a sense of place makes him worth watching."
– The Washington Post (US)
"Murder, mayhem, and the seedy side of Marseilles make for a mesmerising mix."
– The Northern Echo
"A rich, colourful setting... O'Brien truly makes us feel, smell, hear, and see Marseilles. He writes skillfully, and the city setting simply reaches out and surrounds the reader. Definitely recommended."
– Mystery Scene