A French Country Murder

January 6, 2003
Le Carré and Deighton fans will welcome New Yorker
cartoonist Steiner's engaging, if enigmatic, first novel, which uses the traditional trappings of the thriller to explore a man's late-life changes. After his unjust dismissal from the CIA, where he was an up-and-coming Middle East policy expert, Louis Morgon finds refuge in rural France. Decades later, someone deposits a corpse with a slit throat on his doorstep. While little mystery surrounds the identity of the prime conspirator, the story, which uses flashbacks and flash-forwards, avoids pat resolutions and does full justice to the complexities of interpersonal relationships. The scenes set in small-town France capture the atmosphere and pace of life there wonderfully.

February 1, 2003
First novelist Steiner places protagonist Louis Morgon in a rather bizarre situation. An ex-CIA agent with two estranged adult children, Morgon has retired to rural France in order to keep his former life secret. When someone dumps a dead African's body on his doorstep, Morgon refuses to help police for that reason, opting instead to investigate this "message" on his own. He begins by methodically searching for clues, questioning his ever-surveillant neighbor, and facing a would-be murderer in a local hotel. An arid, sensible tone marks the narrative, which is a bit short on conversation but inviting nonetheless.

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