Paperback: Alex, the first book in the Commandant Camille Verhœven Trilogy series, is the winner of the CWA International Dagger Award 2013, amidst much international acclaim and thereby catapulted Pierre Lemaitre's career into international limelight.
Alex Prevost - kidnapped, savagely beaten, suspended from the ceiling of an abandoned warehouse in a wooden cage - is running out of time. Her abductor appears to want only to watch her die. Apart from a shaky eyewitness report, Police Commandant Camille Verhœven has nothing to go on: no suspects, no leads.
To find the young woman, the detective - a man with a tragic past and extraordinary abilities as an investigator - must first understand more about her.
Beautiful, tough, resourceful, always two steps ahead - the enigma that is Alex will keep Verhœven guessing till the bitter, bitter end. Before long, saving Alex's life will be the least of Verhœven's considerable challenges.
The novel originally published in 2006 in the French language, won the "Prix du premier roman du festival de Cognac" - an award for the best debut crime novel. This brought the novel national fame throughout France.
Alex is translated from the French by Frank Wynne.
About the author: Pierre Lemaitre is a Prix Goncourt-winning novelist and screenwriter, internationally renowned for the crime novels featuring the fictional character Commandant Camille Verhœven. In November 2013, he was awarded the Prix Goncourt, France's top literary prize, for Au revoir là-haut, an epic about World War I. The translation of another of his French novels, Camille, won the CWA International Dagger in 2015. He worked as a teacher in literature and now devotes his time writing novels and screenplays.
Rating: 5/5
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