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Too Close to the Edge

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A widow’s quiet retirement in the foothills of the Alps is turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious stranger.

Recently widowed grandmother Éliette is returning to her house in the mountains when her car breaks down. A stranger offers help and Éliette gives him a lift, glad of the company and interruption to her routine.

A tale of retirement and calm domesticity, with a hint of menace about to explode.

200 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2010

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419 people want to read

About the author

Pascal Garnier

86 books102 followers
Pascal Garnier, who died in March 2010, was a talented novelist, short story writer, children’s author and painter. From his home in the mountains of the Ardèche, he wrote fiction in a noir palette with a cast of characters drawn from ordinary provincial life. Though his writing is often very dark in tone, it sparkles with quirkily beautiful imagery and dry witted humour. Garnier’s work has been likened to the great thriller writer, Georges Simenon. Gallic books has now published many of his titles, including - The Panda Theory, How’s the Pain?, The Islanders, Moon in a Dead Eye, and The Front Seat Passenger.

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5 stars
40 (21%)
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78 (41%)
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55 (29%)
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13 (6%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
Profile Image for Glenn Russell.
1,508 reviews13.2k followers
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February 2, 2025



Violence, bloody violence.

Too Close to the Edge - A Pascal Garnier crime bloodbath, the most extreme, most action-packed of the French author's twelve short novels translated into English.

Over the past two months I've read and posted reviews on eleven Pascal Garnier novels published by Gallic. I saved Too Close to the Edge for last. It's almost as if the author wanted to send me off with an unforgettable kicker, a tale embodying the spirit of wrenching, blood soaked Euripidean Greek tragedy, say Medea or The Bacchae.

Too Close to the Edge shatters the author's usual pattern of building up to the crime noir parts by exploring the psychological, existential tensions of his characters in the first two-thirds of the book. Not here. In Too Close we're given the first bits of crime and death in the opening pages. And the story builds and builds from there.

One abiding theme in the author's novels: violence and chaos beneath the surface of seemingly normal, everyday men and women. in The Front-Seat Passenger, a wan, passive young lady from Paris turns psychopathic killer, in Moon in a Dead Eye, a retired milquetoast bookkeeper picks up a gun for the first time in his life and shoots an innocent man in the face before smothering his wife with a pillow. The list goes on.

This violence and chaos beneath the surface theme is exacerbated by old age - an individual maintains society's expectations of being a good, upstanding, moral citizen throughout an entire lifetime until one becomes old. Then it happens: intoxicated, savage Dionysus bubbles up to take revenge - all of a sudden, sweet, goody-goody grandma or grandpa becomes an instrument of Dionysian fury.

Which leads us to the main character in Too Close: Éliette Vélard, age sixty-four, lost husband Charles two years prior. Upon retirement, the couple planned to move from their Paris suburban apartment to an isolated vacation house they've been fixing up for years, a house out in farm country at the foot of the Alps . But then the unexpected: Charles died of cancer months before his retirement.

Daughter Sylvie and son Marc implore Éliette not to take up full-time residence out in the boonies with the yokels - too remote, too dangerous. But mom has had it with moping around her suffocating apartment, watching TV and waiting for the occasional visit from kids and grandkids. Fooey!

Trim, lively, still attractive Éliette not only moves but gets a drivers' license for the first time in her life and purchases a top-of-the-line Aixam, a spiffy little microcar to zoom around the rural roads and into town to do her shopping.

"It took a little while to get used to driving it up the dirt track that lead to her house, but after a few days she was able to go backwards and forwards, left and right without too much damage to the bumpers. Her first solo expedition (a round trip of about twenty kilometres) gave her as much of a thrill as if she had piloted a plane. Window down, hair blowing in the wind, she sang at the top of her lungs: 'Je na'ail besoin de personne en Harley Davidson . . ' The vehicle had changed her life."



One day, out in her Aixam, Éliette has a flat tire and just so happens a gentleman in a suit walking along the road offers help. Éliette not only accepts his gesture of kindness but, tire changed, drives the gent back to her home for tea. Then tragedy hits: Éliette receives a telephone call from her neighbor: their beloved son is dead, an automobile accident. Shortly thereafter, all hell breaks loose.

Extreme French crime fiction noir. With Too Close, Pascal Garnier slams a reader with the fire at life's center - love and death, Eros and Thanatos.

Grab a copy and buckle up. You're in for a sizzling, full throttle joyride.


French novelist Pascal Garnier, 1949-2010
Profile Image for Hanneke.
392 reviews484 followers
March 25, 2021
Another fine example of a murderous merry-go-round from the hand of Pascal Garnier, the one and only master of this particular slapstick genre.

Profile Image for Kathy.
3,854 reviews288 followers
December 2, 2018
Nothing but this book could bring me up after a Bears game loss that shouldn't have happened. But then - My first outing with this genius writer, Pascal Garnier. I now plan to read all of his books.

The book is a slim one, just 144 pages and light to carry in my backpack. Score!
Every word on every page is perfectly selected and ordered.
Every genuine emotion that can be felt is expressed expertly and artistically.
No way am I going to spoil this gently told tale of horror.

A quote from John Banville says it: "Horribly funny...appalling and bracing in equal measure."

English translation, Gallic Books, 2016
Profile Image for D.
526 reviews84 followers
March 27, 2021
Very easy super light reading. An improbable story with unconvincing characters. Still, there is something captivating that encourages one to stick with it until the end.
Profile Image for Chris.
547 reviews95 followers
July 18, 2016
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book that I have read by Mr. Garnier and I am confident that I will be reading the rest of his work. These short, intense mysteries would appeal to anyone who enjoys great Noir fiction and the added bonus of the cultural nuances from the settings being placed in France just makes these books that much more interesting to me.

The Islanders was darker and more humorous. Close to the Edge is brilliantly plotted and tragic but maintains an overall quirky and ironic feel that I found to be original and intriguing. The books are quite different in tone, yet they are both compelling and riveting. A reader starting one of his books on a train would most likely wish for a longer ride because one you start one of Garnier’s stories, you will want to read straight through to the end.

Other reviewers have compared Garnier to other French writers and I have to confess ignorance of those other writers (that I plan on remedying to be sure). For me, I was reminded of the brilliance of James M. Cain. There is in both of these masters a tense reality in the characters and an urgency to the rapidly moving storyline that few authors can accomplish. Additionally, both authors strip their stories down to the bare bones so that the reader is engaged from the first page and won’t take a breath until the final, perhaps unexpected, conclusion. Garnier’s books are the perfect length for the stories they tell and that is another part of their charm.

Five stars. Noir doesn’t get any better.

I will be reading the rest of Garnier’s work, most of them in one sitting.
Profile Image for Marina Sofia.
1,346 reviews288 followers
March 3, 2016
Another winner from Garnier. Another subtle and yet menacing story about aging, contentment and discontent.
Profile Image for Paul Dembina.
678 reviews161 followers
September 1, 2020
For me this wasn't quite up to the standard of the other Garniers I've read to date. Not dark and existential enough.
Profile Image for Jim.
2,403 reviews795 followers
December 10, 2021
Over the last year, I have read most of Pascal Garnier's fiction. The best, Too Close to the Edge, rips to shreds the blasé stoicism of French life.

Elisse has been recently widowed and decides to move from Paris to the French provinces. Suddenly things start to happen in her life. The youngest son of her closest neighbor is killed in an auto accident right around the time that Elisse meets up with a man her own age who helps her fix a flat tire. Unfortunately, he comes with baggage in the form of a drug-dealing daughter with whom he is having an incestuous relationship. Then things go from bad to worse. Elisse's life is turned inside out, and bodies begin to multiply all over the French countryside.

You have to see this book to believe it!
Profile Image for John.
2,147 reviews196 followers
November 30, 2020
This one had been on my TBR pile for a while after liking another book by Garnier. I realized there'd be violence, but it came fairly late in the book, and not at all what I expected.

Basically, it's one of those situations where an impulsive decision starts a row of domino's falling towards a trainwreck; this being a Garnier story should surprise no one. He does well with pacing, throwing in twists. Not sure I "got" the ending, though it seemed as though one could do a bit of "write your own" I suppose?

One minor quibble was that I found I had to consciously recall which of the two main characters was which as their names seemed so similar on the visual page - a bit like an Anglo novel featuring Steve and Steph.

Anyway, if it left me planning on another story - and I generally loathe violence - he might be doing something right!
Profile Image for Raven.
800 reviews228 followers
April 3, 2016
Being a confirmed devotee of the late, great, Pascal Garnier, it was lovely to discover another of his bijou, but dark and disturbing treats. He has such a singular knack for taking the reader into a surprising and, at times, darkly humorous direction in such a compressed length of fiction, and Too Close To The Edge is no exception. After a rustic and genteel opening charting the life of widow Eliette newly ensconced in her French rural retreat, Garnier disrupts the apparent new-found harmony of her life in an exceptionally violent manner, with sex, drugs and twisted emotions, coming to thwart her peaceful existence, but also allowing her room to discover elements of life that she has had no experience of, and the change her perception of the world undergoes through this. It’s deft, violent, funny and perfect, further demonstrating the void that the much-loved Garnier leaves in his wake.
Profile Image for Lucy Somerhalder.
90 reviews6 followers
March 12, 2016
At first I thought Garnier couldn't write women, but I think he just can't write people, utterly irrespective of sex. This has incest, murder and a few really nice turns of phrase, but I just couldn't get past the jarring dialogue and unbelievable characters.
Profile Image for Jessica.
Author 6 books211 followers
March 25, 2017
Witty, surprising and darkly amusing, there is no better palate cleanser than Pascal Garnier. I think I've read seven of his short crime novels, almost as many as have been translated, all of which take place in the small towns and cities of provincial France. This one, centering on an older widow with lots of life still in her, is particularly enjoyable.
Profile Image for Michael Sanderson-green.
937 reviews4 followers
May 19, 2017
The inside jacket liken Gardier to many other authors such as Ballard and McCarthy but I think he is in his own league as the premier French Noir author. This is a great guirky book about the life of a retired lady finding adventure.
Profile Image for Mary Lou.
1,124 reviews26 followers
February 6, 2017
When Eliette’s husband of forty years dies unexpectedly just before they retire, she moves to the remote country house they have been converting as planned, despite her childrens’ reservations.
As she gradually adjusts to her own company, her life changes dramatically when she meets Etienne, whose car has broken down a few kilometres away.
Not only is she oblivious to the danger posed by a stranger, but finds she positively enjoys the thrill of it. As the situation becomes odder and odder, while remaining just about possible, she is forced to make decisions and take actions which would have been unthinkable just a few days before.
This darkly funny writing reminds us of our black side, which can show up in the right (or wrong) circumstances.

Profile Image for Melinda.
1,020 reviews
May 23, 2016
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With each turn of the page the story becomes darker and darker. Éliette certainly blossoms from mild mannered mature woman to a stealth bad girl before our very eyes. Her quiet, lonesome life dives headfirst into sheer mayhem. Lots of humor peppering the narrative with precision timing. Secondary characters along with subplots enhance the foreboding impending events. Another prize from Garnier. The ending was fantastic. Once again translation is excellent, kudos to Emily Boyce.
Profile Image for SueLucie.
473 reviews19 followers
March 9, 2016
A pre-publication review copy courtesy of Gallic Books via netgalley.com, many thanks.

I am a huge fan of Pascal Garnier and this latest one to be translated doesn't disappoint. Dark and menacing as you would expect, the sense of foreboding builds relentlessly to a startling conclusion.
Profile Image for Jan vanTilburg.
335 reviews5 followers
October 27, 2023
“…she had just realized that for her entire life she had been two people and that the other Éliette who had played second fiddle for so long […] had just taken charge.”

What will happen, when by (disastrous) events ones life becomes unhinged? That’s what is being described here.

Wonderfully written. A rich language. I enjoyed the many metaphors by which people, things, events and nature was described.

It’s humorous too. In a morbid way. Considering what happened. Knowing what kind of stories Garnier writes, it always feel ominous to read. When will disaster strike? How will it unfold? Do I even like it?

It’s about Éliette. Recently widowed. Living alone in a country house far away from civilization. She is happy now. Content. And when a handsome man arrives out of nowhere, helping her when her car broke down, old feelings are stirred up. She is innocent. Does not read the signs. Or better, decides to ignore them.

When her neighbor calls, telling that his son died in a road accident things go very wrong from there on. Because, could the tragedy be linked to the arrival of her good Samaritan?

Story about breaking free from the mold of life, but in a destructive way.

And now the question, if I like such stories. Reading about how life can go so wrong. Making questionable choices. Seemingly forced by circumstances. I tend to answer in the negative. So I’m going to leave Garnier behind for now. Go on to more upbeat stories.
Keep my head in the sand. Going ostrich.
107 reviews1 follower
November 19, 2024
As notable for its brevity as for its unpredictability, "Too Close to the Edge" features Eliette, a widow living alone in a remote part of France who suffers a flat in her brand-new car, gets help changing the tire from a kind stranger who has encountered some problems of his own down the road, ends up taking him home, becomes friends with him...and more. Meanwhile--on the very same stretch of road--her neighbors' reckless son has had an accident of his own, a fatal one. Did her new friend Etienne have something to do with it? But he couldn't have, could he? Once the premise is established (and it's a good one), Garnier surprises us time and again as new characters are added, new plot twists are introduced, and the sometimes charming and sometimes dark relationship between Eliette and Etienne deepens and grows. The prose is clean, Garnier's descriptions of the French countryside are lovely, and the characters--even when they behave in ways we may not always understand--are never less than believable. A little gem, and a fine example of French noir. Not a great read, but certainly worth checking out.
Profile Image for Best_books.
314 reviews3 followers
March 2, 2024
I should know by now that nothing is taboo in Garnier’s books. But dark (or Gallic noir) is a serious understatement when it comes to this one!

There is murder (lots); murderers (several); incest; sexual assault; drugs; tragedy; disastrous coincidence … and all crammed into 144 well-spaced pages.

I should also know by now that the gentle protagonist - in this case a retired Mother and Grandmother who is recently widowed - will not turn out to be quite as beautifully gentle and naive at the end of the story . And all the characters - however they are introduced - will either reveal unconscionable flaws or die (metaphorically or not) as the story progresses.

Not for the faint hearted this was another winner for me and perhaps my favourite Garnier so far !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ray Nessly.
385 reviews37 followers
February 24, 2024
4-5 stars. The 6th Pascal Garnier book I've read. (I also recently read How's the Pain, 5 stars.)
Unfortunately, I don't have time to post a proper review of either at this time. I'll have to get them out of the library again later and attempt to review them. I kept notes as usual, good thing, and that 'should' help jog my memory.
I also recently reread Moon in A Dead Eye, the first of his I'd read. It remains my favorite.
Profile Image for Susan.
1,644 reviews
June 3, 2020
This is a fast paced, intriguing very different kind of "mystery, thriller." The behavior of the characters is so out-of-the-ordinary, but it still holds together and is great reading. The seemingly normal life of an older widow comes undone both with the interactions of strangers who show up at her door, and neighbors who she believes she knows quite well.
Profile Image for Paula.
89 reviews14 followers
November 21, 2021
I was not convinced that an older woman would invite a stranger to stay as long as he did and invite another stranger to stay, even after hearing about the mysterious death of her neighbors' son. I don't think anyone is ever that lonely. Read the book for a class; otherwise, not sure I would have picked it up to read on my own.
71 reviews27 followers
March 10, 2018
Bland prose, bland story, bland characters. There were some moments of absurd homour that worked nicely, aside from which this book didn't have much to offer.
Profile Image for Jeffrey Kwitny.
2 reviews
May 5, 2020
Powerful

Could not put it down for the life of me. Horrifying while beautiful. No one else writes like this. Read during the daylight or have nightmares.
93 reviews
May 17, 2020
This is great noir, in that the plot unfolds like clockwork and yet still manages to constantly surprise. Some of Agnes’s early dialogue feels a bit too expositional, but that is my only complaint.
2 reviews1 follower
May 17, 2021
A realistic insidious dive into a storm of impulses, frustrations, dreams and resentment that leaves a track of destruction and we never get sight of any hero to bring the order back to their lives
Profile Image for LeastTorque.
944 reviews17 followers
June 25, 2022
This book is an episode of the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Constructed to mislead and shock and twist with the bang up ending. A very quick read that threw in everything and the kitchen sink.
Profile Image for Jane.
107 reviews8 followers
September 3, 2025
Ahhhh... my French Stephen King👏👏👏
Profile Image for Wendy.
599 reviews43 followers
April 3, 2016
Too Close to the Edge was my first Pascal Garnier experience. Despite a stunted start, I soon settled into the clipped pace and style of writing. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I ever read a book so quickly!

Eliette has lost her beloved husband to cancer and she is at loss as to what to do with herself. Her grown up children have lives of their own and despite their casual nurturing and occasional watchful glances she has a light-bulb moment of how she wants her life to continue without their father.

Before his death, they had their sights set on a quiet little farmstead. So why not continue the dream? Despite the sadness, she realises she’s not the one who passed away. So, off she goes and along the way she’s developing new skills like driving, claiming a new image by wearing jeans, and she’s even encouraged to invite a helpful stranger into her home, after he kindly changed her tyre in the pouring rain.

Such an event would be unthinkable to her family. But she doesn’t let that hold her back, especially as life is proved to be undoubtedly fragile when another tragedy strikes, as she learns her neighbours' son has been killed in a car accident. Eliette sees her friends trudging through the fallout from the psychological damage caused by an unexpected incident and this gives her a quiet determination and room to grow.

After a series of horrendous events that conspire against this little group of people and their very personal reactions to the grief process in a quite extreme manner, Eliette finds she is more encouraged by her new found confidence. The enigmatic stranger has an alluring pull and she just can’t help herself, nor does she want to, as she wants to discover more about him and his life before he arrived on the scene. She might be sixty-four, but, after all, she is alive and her desire to step outside her usual 'motherly box' finds her dismissing her usual sensibilities.

It’s a diverse tale drawing from a variety of darker 'domestic' themes: incest, murder, suicide, discrimination, alcoholism, and drugs. There's a lot crammed into the pages, yet somehow it’s not oppressive, or disturbingly illicit.

It comes to the boil quickly and bubbles continually to keep the story moving forward. Like I say, it’s one of the quickest reads I’ve ever encountered. If you're interested in the study of people and their unpredictable reactions to monumental upheavals in their lives, then this is an especially fine example.

(My thanks to Gallic Books for allowing a digital download of this title via NetGalley for review.)
Profile Image for Sé.
5 reviews1 follower
September 15, 2016
Saw John Banville quote on the cover comparing him to Simenon so had to read. Real good read and the man has no fears about adding bizarre twists to the storyline. Now must read all of his work.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews

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