"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'
KNIFE GUN POISON BOMB
A Russian arms dealer is on the run. He has money, he has secrets, and powerful enemies who want him dead. Three hired guns are sent to track him down and kill him. They find him in Marseilles where Chief Inspector Daniel Jacquot is investigating a series of deadly knife attacks.
As Christmas approaches and Jacquot closes on the killer, his pregnant lover, Claudine, is rushed to hospital. Jacquot hurries to her bedside, but he soon discovers that a hospital is not the safest place to be.
Jacquot may be off duty, and about to become a father, but for a cop in Marseilles Christmas is just another day…
Reviews
"A tense and thrilling read that had me on the edge of my seat all the way through."
– Bookbag
"O'Brien is an elegant writer, and he's particularly strong on his scene-setting – you really will believe you're in Provence, admiring the scenery and partaking of some sumptuous meals."
– reviewingtheevidence.com
"Tall and tough, smart and sexy, Jacquot is a first-rate series hero."
– Kirkus Review (US)
"Exciting, and occasionally brutal, Martin O’Brien’s Marseilles-set thrillers are well worth seeking out. Unlike so many English writers he excels at depicting real life in a foreign city."
– The Sun