The French master of noir Observer Disturbing from the outset with strong echoes of Dard's hero Simenon Sunday Times Crime Club (star pick) It's exceedingly clever - when surprising things happen they slap you in the face for being so obvious, so necessary and so vital yet so surprising at the same time, and you can only squirm more enjoyably into your seat as you read on Bookbag This short, sly novel of the night has more than enough substance and mystery to keep readers awake and engrossed The National No question: for me, he was the greatest -- Philippe Geluck The literary descendant of Simenon and Celine Le Figaro His language is cutting, his point-of-view original and his verdict uncompromising... One of the few twentieth-century authors to win both critical acclaim and great popularity Solidarite Militaire France's most popular post-war author L'Express