"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'
LUNCHING THE GIRLS
Meet Cully Mortimer. In his early fifties, pompous, patronising, and blind to his own many shortcomings, Cully is a celebrated food writer and newspaper columnist in Manhattan whose lonely, resolutely single life revolves around the restaurants he reviews, and the women – always women – who join him for lunch and dinner.
These companions – elegant wives, scheming mistresses, and steely career women – provide Cully with all the gloss, glamour, and social standing he desires. But he is neither as popular nor as dearly loved as he so fondly imagines.
When one of his lunch companions is found dead, a bizarre set of coincidences and a cleverly-laid trail of evidence lead to Cully's arrest for murder. Realising he's been framed, he narrows down his list of suspects to four of the women he 'lunches'.
Four very different suspects, with four very different motives. But which one framed Cully?
How can he trap them into confessing? And what does he learn about himself in the process?
Reviews
"Cully is a brilliant character who gets better and better as his tiny bubble bursts."
– Amazon Reviewer
"I loved this book. It rattles along, the writing is sharp, and the understanding of a particular milieu spot on."
– Amazon Reviewer
"A fantastic read that I strongly recommend."
– Amazon Reviewer
"Great original read. Another of his books that you can’t put down."
– Amazon Reviewer
© 2019 . All Rights Reserved. Connor Corcoran Design.
Click the logo to visit Martin on Facebook