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Foreign Detective #1
Tanger
Tanger, grande fresque de romance et d''intriques ayant pour cadre une ville légendaire d''Afrique du Nord, rappellera peut-être aux lecteurs Le Quatuor d''Alexandrie de Lawrence Durrell. Dans ce livre, Tanger n''est pas une simple villégiature ; c''est une ville d''amours contre nature. Des Européens titrés, des prostitués marocains, un couple d''anciens nazis, des décadents de tout poil s''adonnent à leurs rituels, rivalisent entre eux pour conquérir de superbes amants et prendre le pouvoir au sein de la haute société.Leurs manigances et leurs passions sont un sujet de fascination pour le héros de l''histoire, un jeune et brillant inspecteur de police nommé Hamid Ouazzini. Mais celui-ci est également révulsé par cette colonie d''étrangers privilégiés : il cherche obstinément à la comprendre et à démêler son écheveau de secrets. Il finit par trouver la clef de l''énigme en la personne de Kalinka, une belle Eurasienne dont il parvient à décrypter le passé mystérieux. A travers les yeux de la jeune femme, il en vient à voir Tanger sous un jour nouveau.Publié en 1978 mais inédit en France, Tanger traite du pouvoir et de la décadence morale, du choc des cultures entre Orient et Occident, de la persistance de l''esprit "colonial" chez les "étrangers", de la fin d''un monde qui ne voit pas que, comme le dit le proverbe, "l''orage se prépare". William Bayer, maître du psychothriller, signe ici un roman d''une étonnante densité, qui évoque les chefs-d''oeuvre de Graham Greene.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
9 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
William Bayer
56 books28 followersWILLIAM BAYER is the author of nineteen fiction and non-fiction books. Thirteen of his novels are now available in ebook and audiobook editions. His books have been published in fourteen foreign languages. Two of his novels, Switch and Pattern Crimes, were New York Times best sellers.
Bill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, son of an attorney-father and screenwriter-mother ( Eleanor Perry). He was educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard where he majored in art history. His Harvard honors thesis was an analysis of a single painting by Paul Gauguin: “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” For six years he served in Washington, Vietnam and New York as an officer with the U. S. Information Agency. He has been a grantee of The American Film Institute and The National Endowment of the Arts.
His novels have won the following awards: Peregrine (The Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, aka “The Edgar”); Switch, (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique); Mirror Maze, (the French Le Grand Prix Calibre 38); The Magician’s Tale (The Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery); The Dream Of The Broken Horses (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique).
His novel, Switch, was the source for seven television movies, including two four-hour mini-series. In all of them the main character, NYPD Detective Frank Janek, was played by the actor Richard Crenna. All seven movies were broadcast nationally by CBS in prime time.
Bayer is married to food writer, Paula Wolfert. They have lived in Paris, New York, Connecticut, Tangier (Morocco), and San Francisco. They currently reside in the Sonoma Valley, an area North of San Francisco which Jack London called “The Valley of the Moon.”
Bill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, son of an attorney-father and screenwriter-mother ( Eleanor Perry). He was educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard where he majored in art history. His Harvard honors thesis was an analysis of a single painting by Paul Gauguin: “D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?” For six years he served in Washington, Vietnam and New York as an officer with the U. S. Information Agency. He has been a grantee of The American Film Institute and The National Endowment of the Arts.
His novels have won the following awards: Peregrine (The Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, aka “The Edgar”); Switch, (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique); Mirror Maze, (the French Le Grand Prix Calibre 38); The Magician’s Tale (The Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery); The Dream Of The Broken Horses (the French Prix Mystère de la Critique).
His novel, Switch, was the source for seven television movies, including two four-hour mini-series. In all of them the main character, NYPD Detective Frank Janek, was played by the actor Richard Crenna. All seven movies were broadcast nationally by CBS in prime time.
Bayer is married to food writer, Paula Wolfert. They have lived in Paris, New York, Connecticut, Tangier (Morocco), and San Francisco. They currently reside in the Sonoma Valley, an area North of San Francisco which Jack London called “The Valley of the Moon.”
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 12, 2011
I wanted to read this detective novel based in morocco because I'm going there in a few months and because the author is married to cookbook writer Paula Wolfert. The book was interesting for those reasons, but it's really not very good.
January 7, 2016
A bit of a struggle to get through for some reasons (too many intersecting/interlocking characters ?) ... but I suspect it contains a lot more local "dish" than the reader might realize.
May 27, 2024
Bayer is an excellent writer. I had to read this over a longer period than I would have wished, which made it more difficult to keep some of the characters straight. However, this is a very, very good book. I am a great fan of his work.
November 3, 2025
Definitely more character driven than plot driven. Still, I liked all of the characters, and it was an enjoyable read. Makes me want to visit Tangier- visit, but not stay.
March 3, 2014
Didn't like it nearly as much as his other books.
January 27, 2013
Couldn't get into this....
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews