Crimes of Winter

March 13, 2017
At the start of French author Georget’s engaging if sometimes discursive third mystery featuring Insp. Gilles Sebag (after 2014’s Autumn, All the Cats Return), the Perpignan policeman catches his wife in a lie. She claims she went to her gym class at noon, but he knows she didn’t because he stopped by the gym to invite her to lunch afterward and she wasn’t there. After his suspicions about his wife’s infidelity are painfully confirmed, Sebag grapples with a series of crimes that all stem from adultery, from murder to a harrowing episode involving a wronged husband and enough gasoline to burn down a residential block. It becomes clear that a common source has alerted—and aggravated—the cuckolded perpetrators. The depressed, diminished detective lets his colleagues pick up other threads of the case as the novel explores the lives of the supporting characters, offers ruminations on marriage and family, and details the many wine selections made with meals. The resolution is multilayered and satisfying, minus the storybook happiness.

April 1, 2017
Just as a French police inspector learns of his wife's adultery, a crime spree hits his turf.When he gets confirmation that his wife, Claire, has been cheating on him, Inspector Gilles Sebag feels "like a rip in his belly." Crime, however, provides a rude awakening to his melancholy self-reflection, even in the sleepy Mediterranean town of Perpignan. First comes the murder of Christine Abad by one of the two men entangled in her love triangle--either Eric, the lover she met in a yoga class, or her husband, Stephane. Claire's tearful explanation of her adultery makes it hard for Gilles to break away. Stomach troubles plague him as his investigation proceeds. His partner, Molina, worries about him, and no wonder, for the parallels between the murder case and his own situation are all too clear. As Christmas nears, Gilles cannot decide whether to leave Claire or stay. But his distress has made him both more reckless and more daring. Gilles engages in a high-speed chase to nab a suspect, whom he ultimately tackles. As his emotional tug of war continues, so does the criminal mischief. An anonymous arsonist is ramping up his antics, and the investigation of Christine's murder takes some interesting twists. The third installment from Georget (Autumn, All the Cats Return, 2014, etc.) dives deeper into character than most traditional detective yarns and is written with wit, poignancy, and panache. Some readers, though, might want less of the investigator and more of the investigation.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 15, 2017

It's winter in Perpignan, a small city in southwestern France. A man shoots his unfaithful wife in a hotel room, and Inspector Sebag and his team are assigned the case. The man doesn't deny his guilt, but there are some parts of his story that don't add up. Sebag has just discovered that his own wife has had an affair, so he is unsure if his personal doubts have affected his judgment as a detective. Another cuckolded husband commits suicide, and a third who's beaten his wife and threatened to burn down their house is brought into the station. A colleague's attorney girlfriend mentions an epidemic of divorces in the region, and Sebag is even more convinced something sinister is happening in his town. This third series outing (after Summertime, All the Cats Are Bored and Autumn, All the Cats Return) is a compelling mystery: chase scenes and interrogations are interspersed with more introspective moments as Sebag tries to solve the mystery and decide how to move forward at home. VERDICT Fans of French settings will enjoy venturing outside of Paris, and the year-end holiday provides an additional measure of atmosphere to the crimes and solutions here.--Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green It takes courage to keep believing; fall in love with Austen again; cross the line into a realistic future

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.