The Blurb
Police capitaine Noémie Chastain has everything: a coveted position in Paris, a devoted team and a loving partner.
On a dawn raid in a grimy Parisian banlieue, in an instant, she loses it all. Shot by the drug dealer she was about to arrest, she is left with serious scars on her face and deeper, longer-lasting damage to her psyche.
Pushed out of her job in Paris by superiors concerned that her disfigurement would damage team morale, abandoned by her boyfriend, she is posted to a police department that serves six sparsely populated communes in the back of beyond, in the southern département of Aveyron. Her brief: to report back on the police department and give head office an excuse to close it altogether.
But when the body of a child floats to the surface of the man-made lake that hides the buried past of the village of Avalone, Capitaine Chastain is forced to take the opportunity to prove her worth and win back her job in Paris. To solve the case, she must lead a team more used to tracking down stolen combine harvesters – handsome Lieutenant Valant, the mayor’s son; ex-Drug Squad Brigadier Bousquet; and green local boy “Bambi” – through the twists and turns of what has become a murder investigation and uncover the dark secrets that have haunted the village for twenty years.
On a dawn raid in a grimy Parisian banlieue, in an instant, she loses it all. Shot by the drug dealer she was about to arrest, she is left with serious scars on her face and deeper, longer-lasting damage to her psyche.
Pushed out of her job in Paris by superiors concerned that her disfigurement would damage team morale, abandoned by her boyfriend, she is posted to a police department that serves six sparsely populated communes in the back of beyond, in the southern département of Aveyron. Her brief: to report back on the police department and give head office an excuse to close it altogether.
But when the body of a child floats to the surface of the man-made lake that hides the buried past of the village of Avalone, Capitaine Chastain is forced to take the opportunity to prove her worth and win back her job in Paris. To solve the case, she must lead a team more used to tracking down stolen combine harvesters – handsome Lieutenant Valant, the mayor’s son; ex-Drug Squad Brigadier Bousquet; and green local boy “Bambi” – through the twists and turns of what has become a murder investigation and uncover the dark secrets that have haunted the village for twenty years.
Last year I read The Winter Warriors by this author, and enjoyed it. That was historical fiction based on a true event. Surface is a very different book, set now, and I enjoyed it very much.
As it mentions in the blurb, Noémie Chastain, a respected capitaine in the Paris Drug Squad, suffers a terrible injury to a large part of her face, which leaves terrible scars. People either stare at her or can't bear to look at her. And she loses part of who she is following the incident, feels lost and isolated, as her supervisor does his best to push her out of the way. To help her deal with the psychological effects of her injury she works with hospital psychiatrist Melchior, intially in person, later online. He looks at her normally, isn't repulsed, treats her just as he would any other patient. He's kind and gentle when he needs to be, straight talking at other times. I thought he was great. The same can not be said about Adriel. I was so disappointed in him and his behaviour, which I'm sure is the reaction the author wanted.
Noémie is sent to the Aveyron region, which is in the countryside and nothing at all like Paris. And generally very quiet with regards to crime. She arrives angry and is initially abrasive to her new colleagues. But she is accepted, and her team treat her with respect. She doesn't want to be there, though, until a body is found, then she is in her element, feels more at ease because she knows what to do.
I loved Noémie. She is so strong and determined, not willing to let her injury and its effects define her. It was really interesting to watch her recovery, to a degree, and to see the changes in her as she begins to find herself again. The investigation itself is large and complex, going back twenty five years and opening some painful wounds. There is tension, and peril more than once for Noémie before the conclusion. And there is a sting in the tail too.
I loved Surface. It felt fresh, and has a superb, damaged, gutsy heroine. It's well written (and well translated, thanks to Nick Caistor), populated with believable characters (Marguerite Saulnier was a stand out for me) and a cracking crime story. Just one thing - who do I complain to about the Hugo situation? Didn't turn our the way I wanted at all! 😂 Highly recommend this one.
The Author
Olivier Norek spent 18 years in the French police force, where he rose to the rank of capitaine. Since he began to write crime fiction, his books have sold millions of copies and won many prizes. The Winter Warriors was his first historical novel and sold over 400,000 in France. Surface is his next book translated into English and has already won multiple awards in France and has been adapted into a hit TV series.
🩷💚 Thank you so much for being a part of this adventure x
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