Literature: 5 thrillers to thrill you in the shade of your parasol this summer

by Caryl Férey

While the novel begins gently with an ecstatic breath-hold in the company of bull sharks and a compliant sperm whale, we are quickly taken aboard a Sea Shepherd ship, into the torments of a memorable storm. Then, without a break, an adventurous journey begins, all the way to the shores of the Faroe Islands. Caryl Férey's infernal machine is set in motion.

Between the madness of men, at its peak during the Grindadrap , a ritual massacre of cetaceans, and the telluric forces of Nordic nature, the investigation to elucidate the murder of the old chief of the Grind promises to be arduous. The author, once again, excels at keeping the reader under constant tension, he multiplies the characters and the points of view, he plunges his pen and his entire being as a writer into the heart of the mysterious traditions of the subarctic archipelago. An accelerator of emotions, to be devoured without moderation.

^{Gallimard, “Noire” series, 384 p., €20}

by Mo Hayder

A macabre legend and an old bus accident haunt a peaceful English village. Police officer Alex Mullins reopens a high-stakes investigation, deep in a troubled past. Mo Hayder, high priestess of the dark thriller, crafts a chilling plot where buried pain and closely guarded secrets resurface. A sharp style, constant tension, and an oppressive atmosphere: it's all there. This posthumous dive into the world of the author, taken in 2021 by a neurodegenerative disease, is a final stroke of brilliance, as cruel as it is masterful. A dark and moving gem, not to be missed.

^{Presses de la Cité, translated from English by Anne-Sylvie Homassel, 432 p., €22.90}

by Vera Buck

In an isolated hamlet high in the German mountains, an Anabaptist community lives self-sufficiently under the thumb of Isaiah, a charismatic and disturbing preacher. When Rebekka, a dreamy teenager, disappears, the memory of Juli, who was lost 10 years earlier in the same woods, resurfaces. Hostile nature, latent tension, silences heavy with secrets: Vera Buck weaves a dense and captivating choral novel, somewhere between a mountain thriller and a gothic tale. The voices of Jesse, Edith, Smilla, Laura, and Isaiah intertwine to form a dramatic plot of rare intensity. A dark, magnificently orchestrated tale, where the real wolves are not always those we think.

^{Gallmeister, translated from German by Brice Germain, 480 p., €25.50}

by Sophie Hénaff

Fall 2024. At the Paris PJ, Commander Cathy Martini, widow of a famous singer, investigates a series of violent burglaries targeting celebrities. When an actress disappears—her late husband's ex-mistress—the case becomes personal. In this satire of the star system, the gruff and disillusioned Martini teams up with Titan Payot, a candid deputy and celebrity fan. Sophie Hénaff once again dynamites the codes of the detective novel: scathing humor, punchy dialogue, and a lively pace. Between scoops at all costs, invasive paparazzi, and media pretenses, Police People brilliantly alternates social satire and effective suspense. A funny and well-crafted novel, clever, biting, and exhilarating.

^{Albin Michel, 288 p., €19.90}

by Franck Thilliez

While a delusional patient with no identity is admitted to the unit for difficult patients in Chambly, in the northern suburbs of Paris, a woman disappears in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and a fifty-year-old man is brutally murdered in his apartment in Dugny, in Seine-Saint-Denis. It's difficult, at first, to connect the three cases. By the time Commander Sharko's team gets going, a dark puzzle is slowly coming together, the plot of the story unfolding, step by step, sophisticated and unexpected. Avoiding the traps of the genre, Franck Thilliez this time slips into the psychiatric world with subtlety. A constant once again verified: he distils unbearable suspense until the end of a breathtaking plot.

^{Black River, 456 p., €22.90}