Irène cover art

Irène

Camille Verhoeven, Book 1

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Irène

By: Pierre Lemaitre, Frank Wynne - translator
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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About this listen

For Commandant Verhoeven life is beautiful: he is happily married, expecting his first child with the lovely Irène.

But his blissful existence is punctured by a murder of unprecedented savagery. Worse still, the press seem to have it in for him - his every move is headline news. When he discovers that the killer has killed before - that each murder is a homage to a classic crime novel - the fourth estate are quick to coin a nickname: The Novelist.

With both men in the public eye, the case develops into a personal duel, each hell-bent on outsmarting the other. There can only be one winner - whoever has the least to lose.

©2006 Pierre Lemaitre et Editions du Masque (P)2014 WF Howes Ltd Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Murder Scary Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Last year, I was not alone in hailing Pierre Lemaitre’s Alex as one of my top crime books of 2013 . . . Irène, now published in an excellent English translation, is just as gripping, frightening, intelligent and brilliant" ( Marcel Berlins, The Times)
"Quirky, brutal and not for the faint-hearted, it is crime fiction of the highest class . . . Superbly constructed and executed, it puts Lemaitre very close to Ellroy’s class. If you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down" ( Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail)
"A page-turning race to a grand-slam finish" ( Laura Wilson, Guardian)
All stars
Most relevant
An unusual crime novel with a great idea - hood there are no copycats! Difficult to follow who's who as there are a lot if characters right at the beginning. I would have given 5 stars but there was too much gore.

Brilliant writing but gory

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Any additional comments?

I've just listened to all 3 books from this author. And the narrator chosen kills book 1 and 3, where as Alex has a good narrator.

The narrator kills the book!

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Not sure why, perhaps it is in the translation, but despite excellent narration, I find this authors work so very 'wordy'. Good story with macabre descriptions of multiple deaths but long periods of interminable dialogue that had me yearning for more action and less speeches. Such a shame as the plots are so very good, the action, when it comes, is electrifying but ........ how it does go on!!!!! I would have probably enjoyed it (and Alex) had they been several hours shorter.

Not as good as I hoped

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One of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to in the dark genre! Listen at your peril. Highly recommended if you dare.

Brilliant

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What did you like most about Irène?

The French accent of the narrator reading the story,really added to the listening experience, and gave it a French atmosphere, and you could imagine you were there

What did you like best about this story?

The clever twists and turns, and the way the killer was goading Camille.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

When Camille and his team worked out where Irene was being held,and they arrived on the scene and found her.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I found it hard to turn it off.

French mystery

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