Irène by Pierre Lemaitre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


'Irène' (originally 'Travail Soigné') is Pierre Lemaitre's debut novel and the first to feature Commandant Camille Verhœven. It is a dark and brutal novel, following Verhœven's investigation into multiple murders committed by a killer who becomes known as the Novelist.

We meet Camille as he interviews a victim of violent crime, before he receives a call from one of his officers - two young woman have been brutally murdered and dismembered, and the crime scene is unlike anything the team have encountered before. Shocked by the level of violence and bloodshed, the team painstakingly analyse the evidence and follow the leads, reaching numerous dead-ends. The killer is proving to be elusive, devious and clever; Camille is convinced he will kill again and has killed before. A fake fingerprint, deliberately left at the scene, soon leads them to another brutal murder committed eighteen months previously. It is in this crime that Camille recognises the killer's MO - he is recreating murders that have taken place in novels.

We are also introduced to Camille's private life - his wife Irène is heavily pregnant with their first child. Camille's growing focus on the case begins to put a strain on their relationship, not to mention his already strained relationship with his father.

The French judicial system is vastly different to that in the United Kingdom - the lead investigator and his superiors answer to an appointed juge d'instruction, who manages the investigation. Nevertheless, Camille proves to be somewhat a maverick, approaching the killer directly via a personal ad to encourage him to talk about his work and draw him out. The pressure of the case soon takes its toll, with press intrusion mounting and the discovery of more victims, threatening to spill over into Camille's own life.

Written with detailed precision, 'Irène' is fast-paced, gripping and an instant classic. It felt reminiscent of 'Messiah' (both Boris Starling's novel and the TV series starring Ken Stott), in its brutality, its dark atmosphere and its intrusion into the investigating team's personal lives. As a lover of crime fiction, Lemaitre and the killer's tributes to murders in crime novels, as well as the investigation into the possibility of more imitations, were thrilling - dealt with expertly so as to contribute to the novel's plot and the killer's psychology rather than detract from it.

With a fantastic twist, rocketing towards a brutal, shocking conclusion, 'Irène' is a superb thriller that stays with you long after the final page and leaves you wanting more - it shan't be long before I pick up the second novel, 'Alex', and delve into Camille Verhœven's world once again.



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