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THE NOVELIST KILLS BY THE BOOK

For Commandant Camille Verhoeven life is beautiful. He is happily married and soon to become a father.

HE'S ALWAYS ONE CHAPTER AHEAD

But his blissful existence is punctured by a murder of unprecedented savagery. When his team discovers that the killer has form - and each murder is a homage to a classic crime novel - the Parisian press are quick to coin a nickname . . . The Novelist.

HE HATES HAPPY ENDINGS

With the public eye fixed on both hunter and hunted, the case develops into a personal duel, each hell-bent on outsmarting the other. There can only be one winner. The one who has the least to lose.

“"Verhoeven is a one-of-a-kind detective . . . Not for the faint of heart, this gritty thriller will appeal to fans of Chelsea Cain, for the grisly details, and Fred Vargas, for the French setting and iconoclastic sleuth."-- Kirkus Reviews”

Gripping, frightening, intelligent and brilliant. - The Times.

Ingeniously plotted, deftly mixing dark and comic scenes, introducing the detective's team with panache. - Sunday 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. - Daily Mail.

Thrilling ... with a page-turning race to a grand-slam finish. - Guardian.

Pierre Lemaitre was born in Paris in 1951. He worked for many years as a teacher of literature before becoming a novelist. He was awarded the Crime Writers' Association International Dagger, alongside Fred Vargas, for Alex. In 2013 his novel Au revoir la-haut (The Great Swindle, in English translation) won the Prix Goncourt, France's leading literary award.

THE NOVELIST KILLS BY THE BOOK For Commandant Camille Verhoeven life is beautiful. He is happily married and soon to become a father. HE'S ALWAYS ONE CHAPTER AHEAD But his blissful existence is punctured by a murder of unprecedented savagery. When his team discovers that the killer has form - and each murder is a homage to a classic crime novel - the Parisian press are quick to coin a nickname . . . The Novelist. HE HATES HAPPY ENDINGS With the public eye fixed on both hunter and hunted, the case develops into a personal duel, each hell-bent on outsmarting the other. There can only be one winner. The one who has the least to lose.

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