Walls of a Mind is the 5th book in the
series but the first I have read. I would not have read the book if it was not
on the shortlist for the Best Novel in the 2014 Arthur Ellis Awards sponsored
by the Crime Writers of Canada. It is my loss not to have read earlier books in
the series.
On a lovely
crime free afternoon the inspector decides to treat herself to a picnic on the
beach. Taking book, beach towel, parasol and lunch (“jambon-beurre on frest baguette, one hard-boiled egg, a few black
olives. Carrot Sticks. A white peach” and one bottle of 1664 beer) she settles
down on the sand. Being just before the summer rush the beach is quiet.
In a first for
female sleuths I have read, Nouvelle rolls down the top of her swimsuit so that
she is topless for tanning. As a good looking man in a suit gives her but a cursory
glance walking by it appears she has a tinge of disappointment in the
disinterest. (The cover captures the moment.)
Shortly after
she is called to lead an investigation into the sniper killing of Joël Guatto, a member of a well known local
family and an obscure politician who gained less than 1% of the votes in the
last election for a federal representative. He had run for a right wing
agrarian party, the Chasse, Pêche, Nature, Tradition Party, better known as the
Hunting and Fishing Party, railing against the actions of the EEC.
While the
family vineyard appears to be doing alright there is a simmering resentment in
the region to the influx of cheap Spanish wine. The EEC rules allowing products
to move easily across national boundaries are threatening the smaller grape
growers and vineyards. There is a history of violent protest going back a
century against imports of low cost wine.
Yet what
reason was there to kill Guatto. He had no influence. He could damage no one’s
interests. His ineffectual political campaign produced scorn rather than anger
in his opponents.
As Nouvelle
pursues her investigation she is drawn to Stephanie McLeod, an Enarque who had
studied at the elite L’école de Administration in Paris. McLeod
had returned home to care for her dying mother. She has stayed after her
mother’s death working as a waitress in a rural bistro with owner Chef, Avi
Roig, an Israeli exile. More importantly, she was deputy (campaign adviser) and
lover to Guatto but she had little use for Guatto by the end of the election.
Her background
is also intriguing to the police. Her parents had fled Canada and changed their
names. Her father had sabotaged some international economic interests. Her
mother was a member of the FLQ, the separatist terrorist organization that
created havoc in Quebec in the early 1970’s.
McLeod’s is of
even greater interest to the Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST)
the internal French Secret Service. Led by Agent Margot Tessier the DST
aggressively questions McLeod.
While Tessier
imperiously denies Nouvelle information it is clear that modern anarchists are
being pursued.
Nouvelle
learns that McLeod has/is also the lover of “Prince”, the leader of the
anarchist group. McLeod is clearly at the centre of some complex relationships.
Yet how would
the conservative Guatto be connected to anarchists? Their political goals are vastly
different.
In a well
constructed police procedural, Nouvelle carefully seeks out information on the
murder while continually butting up against the DST.
It is a very
good book. Nouvelle is a clever woman determined to do her job well but not
with the obsessive compulsion of many contemporary North American fictional
police to investigate 24 hours a day. She has time for good meals, for a new
love interest and for reading – mysteries being her favourite.
I am going to
search out earlier books in the series.
****
Walls of a Mind did not win this year’s award for Best Novel. It will be my 14th book for the 7th Canadian Book Challenge. I completed the Challenge with my 13th book and I am now reading bonus books.
Bill - This is a new series for me, too. Thanks for sharing it with us. You make an interesting point about that balance that's needed between personal and work life. I think that seeking that balance is an important part of a healthy life. I'm going to think about how fictional sleuths do that. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I wish I had found the series sooner. There is not much balance of life for most North American sleuths.
DeleteThis sounds very nice - I love the idea of the French setting and nice meals.
ReplyDeleteMoira: Thanks for the comment. Brooke vividly portrays life in the Midi. He makes me want to go there.
DeleteSounds interesting. A Canadian author writing about a French policewoman. I will have to look into this series.
ReplyDeleteTracyK: Thanks for the comment. Not only a Canadian author. Brooke is a Canadian male author. My next post will consider his skill with his major female characters.
ReplyDeleteThe faceoff between a cop and an agent is a fairly common but an interesting element in mystery and espionage fiction. The cop often has to step aside and let the agent do the job, for whatever motive, but in the end the cop usually triumphs. Aliette Nouvelle comes across as a sound character who will take the bull by its horns. Thanks for this review, Bill.
ReplyDeletePrashant: Thanks for your comment. It was timely. The post I put up tonight discusses the characters of Nouvelle and Tessier.
DeleteHmmm. Interesting combination of issues and groupings. Also, a man writing about a woman protagonist. This can be tricky, as it doesn't always work as well as Alexander McCall Smith's characterization of Precious Ramotswe.
ReplyDeleteI'll try a book of his. Don't think my library has this one though I'd like to try it.
Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. I will be interested in your perspective if you get a chance to read the book especially with regard to the relationship between the two main woman characters.
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