We Need to Talk About Maxime

Here's an unusual one. A 99-page crime novel set in Brooklyn but written by a Frenchman and translated into English. It's like that movie of Tell No One but the other way round. Or something.

Carnage by Maxime Chattam opens with a chilling account of a high school massacre. A student lets rip with an Uzi on campus before taking his own life and this is quickly followed by two similar incidents in nearby schools. Detective Lamar Gallineo, having been assigned to the first case, is now trying to work out a link between all three.

As you would expect from a book this short, things crack along at a decent pace and the whole thing is over in little more than an hour. Depending on how fast or slow you read, I suppose.

Of course there is a price to pay for brevity. Character development is limited to non-existent and the one relationship that shows any promise, between Lamar and a female colleague, doesn't have time to go anywhere. The ending is a little bit rushed and there isn't the room for too many twists, although Chattam does, to his credit, manage to squeeze a couple in there.

As a quick crime fix this does the job nicely. Think of it as a single episode of a decent crime show rather than 20 weeks of The Killing and, as such, it definitely has its place. It will be interesting to see if Gallic Books can make it work but with crime fiction seemingly as popular as ever I think they stand a decent chance.

Comments

[Ellie]

I have a copy on its way though I quite like short little Gallic books :)