Likely to appeal to fans of noir and hard boiled crime fiction.

A few years ago, I endured one of the greatest catastrophes of all time in reading translated foreign literature. For various reasons, sometimes a series is published out of order. A long time ago (pre-internet) I struggled to discover the correct order of Maj Sjowall’s and Per Wahloo’s Martin Beck series. And for a long time I held off reading Fred Vargas’s Adamsberg series as the books were published out of order in English. In 2013, I heard about a fantastic new crime novel from a French writer by the name of Pierre Lemaitre called Alex. I ran out and bought a copy and was then absolutely gutted to learn that it was the second book in a series. It turns out that the untranslated first book in the series, Irene, had one of the most tragic and devastating endings in all of crime fiction. (That sounds like an exaggeration but I think it is accurate.) Starting on the second book first, experiencing that ending was ruined for me. Why on earth the publisher chose the second book of a trilogy to be published first, especially when the ending of the first book contains such a smashing revelation, is beyond me. I dutifully read the rest of the series and though I have since held a grudge for having to read the books out of order, Pierre Lemaitre became one of my favorite crime writers.

That brings us to the two books considered here - Pierre Lemaitre’s new novel Three Days and a Life and Sophie Henaff’s The Awkward Squad. I am delighted to report that The Awkward Squad is the first book of a series and that it looks to be the start of a great series. Sophie Henaff is journalist at the French edition of Cosmopolitan magazine and this appears to be her first book, something I find a little hard to believe as this is as finely polished a debut police procedural as I have read in a long time. And it has a great hook - Anne Capestan, a decorated police officer, is coming off a six-month suspension and as further punishment, is exiled to head up a new squad of Paris’s worst police officers. Other reviewers have compared this to Mick Herron’s failed spies in his Slow Horses series - an apt comparison and also a great series. It also brought to mind the ragtag bunch of detectives assembled in the first series of the great TV drama The Wire. Or to go back further, The Dirty Dozen. So, not the newest concept but one that delivers when done well - which Henaff does with her awkward squad. The squad’s first two cold cases inevitably merge (but that’s okay, this happens all the time in crime fiction) and soon Capestan’s assortment of castoffs are doing the same things that got them in trouble to solve these previously unsolvable crimes. I look forward to reading more Sophie Henaff.

Pierre Lemaitre’s new novel, Three Days and a Life, is a stand alone. This book is stunning. Initially, it is the story of a young boy who impulsively and unintentionally murders a younger boy and conceals his body in a forest outside their small French town. Given the title, I assumed it would take three days for him to be found out or to find a solution to his dilemma. As authorities search for the missing boy, the tension is unbearable. I can't think of anything I've read where I've felt so bad for the suffering of a murderer as he waits for his crime to be uncovered. I don't want to spoil anything but that there is no immediate resolution to the disappearance of the small boy does not mean the murderer escapes. He is unable to forget what he has done and it warps his life until the time comes for him to return to the town where he grew up and murdered his neighbor. When he does, the tension and dread again becomes unbearable as the reader waits for the inevitable. Something does happen but not at all what might be expected. A sentence of a different sort will be served for this crime. Rarely have I read something so powerful, gripping, and agonizing and that has a convincing ending. Though this is not Pierre Lemaitre's first novel it is the perfect book to start reading this great French writer.

I enjoyed the book. The premise was good. It remind me of a British crime dramedy I love. My primary issues are the translation and the the mixing of French and English throughout the book. The translation was more than competent, but some of the turns of phrase were quite unnatural in English. I was also baffled by the French police terminology. I didn't realize there was a glossary until the end. That isn't very practical for ebook reading.

Those things aside, I quite enjoyed this book. I hope there are more adventures in store for our very own Awkward Squad.

The synopsis reminded me of the tv series, NEW TRICKS which has several of the same situations and is a favorite of mine.

THE AWKWARD SQUAD didn't disappoint. It was a fun read and a delightful book. Would like to see more of the books in a series.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

4 stars

This is a delightful book.

Meet Anne Capestan, a commisaire in a French police force who has “fired one bullet too many.” She goes in to the office fully expecting to be fired but instead is given the task of heading up a new squad. This squad is given the job of reviewing and solving cold cases.

On the first day of work, only three of her 40-some officers show up. Later the number goes up to ten out of forty total officers. There is Gomez who is like the plague. No one wants to be in the same room as him because his partners have a bad habit of either getting killed or having bad accidents. There’s Rosier, who writes crime novels on the side. The problem is that she writes about what she knows – and it’s her fellow police officers. She brings her dog to work. Merlot is a drunk, Evrard is a gambler and Lebreton is gay and just lost his long-time partner. In a police force that does not tolerate gay persons, he is ostracized.

The office to which the new team is assigned is disheartening at best. Beat up furniture and all, it looks like someone’s garage sale. They begin to make it their own, however by adding little decorative touches that say a great deal about their personalities.

One team takes on a burglary that ended up with an elderly woman dead. Another takes the case of a dead sailor. As the two investigations dovetail, a new murder is committed. It seems the team is not the mess-ups everyone assumes they are. They support one another and seem to get along well – for the most part. Anne’s new team grows on her.

This is a very well written, plotted and translated book. The suspense beginning immediately with Anne’s expected dismissal and continues throughout the story as they uncover clues and chase their suspect. I liked the sly humor and comradery of the team. Sophie Henatt is a great writer and I look forward to reading more of her books.

I want to thank NetGalley and Quercus Books US/MacLehose Press for forwarding to me a copy of this nice book to read and enjoy.

A wonderful tale of an eclectic group of cops in Paris, France. Buron, the head of his department, organized a group of misfit cops, including Capestan, the female lead with the trigger temper, Torrez, the jinx, Orisini, the snitch, Rosiere, the rich writer, Lebreton, the gay internal affairs, Merlot, the drunk, Dax, the damaged brain boxer, Evrad, the gambler and Lewitz. Given boxes of old unsolved cases lead them to finding a couple of unsolved murders and the race is on. It was interesting to see how they worked together, and worked with their strengths and weaknesses. I would give this 4.5 stars, with a little off for the side story. I liked it, but it didn't make sense until the ending, so I had to go back and reread about the events in Florida and the ferry accident. Translated from the French, so there are still lots of french terms I didn't understand, but overall didn't mind. Highly recommend this book, and hope there are more about their casework to come.

I received an advance ebook copy from Netgalley.

Newly-divorced Paris police officer Anne fired her gun one too many times in the line of duty, and she has been banished to an offsite location to head up a new cold case unit composed of oddballs and misfits who are being warehoused because they cannot be fired. The quirky characters thus introduced were quite interesting and fun.

But all is not as it seems....

With all the unfamiliar French names and police titles, I had a little trouble following the various characters and the jumps back and forth between present-day Paris and some seemingly unrelated flashbacks to scenes in Key West, Florida. But in the end, it all ties together, and a pair of seemingly-unrelated old murder cases are solved.

This was a great read, an interesting mystery, with characters both funny and admirable.

The book is set mainly in France, and opens with Commissaire Capestan being assigned to take charge of a new, isolated police team of misfits and troublesome officers. The creation of the squad is meant to place the officers somewhere out of the way, powerless but still employed by the police department. Then loads of cold cases are shunted their way. Along with the hopeless cases comes the blame of having solved nothing. It is a perfect cycle of justifying giving the team no support, so they are unable to effectively solve cases, and since they are not solving cases, they get no more support.

Capestan is a great lead, both powerful, a little off the rails, caring and committed to justice. This may have involved a past bit of vigilantism, but maybe she is trying to get control of her fiery temper? Can not tell, and do not care, because in this book she does not lose it much.

The other misfits are both endearing, hilarious and terrifying. There is a constantly sauced captain, a bestselling author whose scathing descriptions annoyed coworkers, a gambling addict, a commandant who was too skilled at investigating his fellow offices, a lieutenant with a history of injured partners, a cheerful empty-headed former pugilist, an IT expert who always focuses on the wrong information, a very reckless driver, and a captain with way too many connections to the press.

Together, their skills work well, and as 'cast-offs,' they form a familial bond. The cold cases that they work seem hopeless, but Capestan inspires, scolds and encourages them to work at it faithfully.

Very entertaining, funny, cozy mystery police procedural redemption story in modern-day France. I hope to read more with these characters. Highly Recommended.