Contemporary French Crime Novels

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Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby gsbod » Wed Apr 27, 2022 10:12 pm

I'm looking for recommendations for contemporary French crime novels. I've got nothing against Maigret, I'm just looking for something more recent, ideally 21st century. Also, as much as I enjoy crime fiction, true crime is really not my thing.

I've read a couple of Fred Vargas's books and have a couple more on my to read pile, but I'm curious about what else is out there?
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby Amandine » Thu Apr 28, 2022 1:06 am

I don't have a specific suggestion but I get the Libé Polar newsletter every month which always has numerous thriller/crime books to put on my list. Can subscribe here.
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby DaveAgain » Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:22 am

Michel Bussi's OK, I've got Franck Thillez's Pandemia on my to-read list, and I'm curious to try one of Pierre Magnan's Commissaire Laviolette books (just because I like the actor from the TV series).
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby jeffers » Thu Apr 28, 2022 11:21 am

Guillaume Musso is a popular crime author, who seems to use novelists as his protagonists. I heard about him a few times on the Balades podcast, so I gave La Fille de Brooklyn a try. I enjoyed it, but I have to say I found the ending rather unsatisfying. It wasn't bad overall, so I will probably try another of his novels some time.
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby Caromarlyse » Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:40 pm

If you have watched (and liked) Engrenages (Spiral), I'd recommend Olivier Norek - he wrote for some of the series and the voice of his novels therefore sounds familiar. They're definitely grittier than Krimis, though! See https://polars.pourpres.net/personne-2630-bibliographie. I'm meaning to try stuff by Franck Thilliez too, but haven't yet.
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby BeaP » Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:51 pm

Surprisingly, I've only found one list on goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/93554.Le_thriller_franco_Thrillers_written_in_French
You can try to search for other lists: type key word, click Listopia
Or you can click on the books and see the 'those who have read this also enjoyed' section to the right.
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby DaveAgain » Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:11 pm

Looking at past winners of the CWA translation prize, Pierre Lemaître comes several times, then also Marion Brunet, and Roxanne Bouchard.
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby jeffers » Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:20 pm

I can't believe I didn't think of Thierry Jonquet when I wrote my previous post! I first heard of Jonquet when an episode of Boulevard du Palais mentioned his death. I looked him up and realized that the police and judge in two of his novels: Les orpailleurs and Moloch, were the basis for the TV series. I read Les orpailleurs during the first Super Challenge, with a great deal of difficulty but also interest, because I knew the characters well and because the story really did draw me along with it. Towards the end I was staying up late into the night reading it, something which I have not done with any French novel since. It is a the story of a serial killer, and as the police and judge investigate each killing they are following the killer on his search for ... that something which ties not only the killer to his victims but also other characters to their own pasts. Several scenes are quite gruesome, not something I would normally read, but I will most likely read this novel again.

I also own Moloch, his other novel which uses the same characters, but I'm not sure I want to read it because the case is about a serial killer who is targeting children, and I just think it might be too much for me.
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Re: Contemporary French Crime Novels

Postby ManuelH » Tue May 03, 2022 4:03 pm

The Trilogie Marseillaise by Jean-Claude Izzo is a nice series. (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Clau ... io_Montale)
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