A Victor Lessard Thriller

Book #2 for the English audience

A note at the beginning suggests that we should consider “Without Blood” a prequel to the series.

I am not surprised learning that Mr. Michaud’s nickname is the Master of the Quebec thriller and that his Victor Lessard series has been adapted and is airing on the TV platform here in French Quebec as well as in Europe. For the English audience two of his books are now translated “Never Forget” came out earlier this year and “Without Blood” will in the next few months. My thanks to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Each book has a unique story to tell, “Without Blood” invites us to travel through the beautiful streets of Montreal where multiple non-trivial stories unfold. It opens when a young woman (Simone) wakes up from a coma and goes on a mad dash to find a man who in all likelihood does not exist. It follows with rebellious cop Victor Lessard pursuing a ruthless hunter who stalks the streets of Montreal and the third thread brings a hunter stalking his prey and awaiting the right moment to close in for the kill.

The author, a native of the city, knows well the city and its neighborhoods, following the characters through the streets and locals brought back cherish memories to this Montrealer. The story is told in alternate voices going from a 1sr person narrative when Simone’s speaks and switches to a 3rd person narrative when Victor and the hunter play their parts. The alternating voices seemed hard to follow at first but I soon fell into the beat and from then on, no trouble I knew that... Simone, Victor and the hunter will each have their turn to tell their stories.

The translation is outstanding; the artist has captured the voice of the writer perfectly. Thanks to the author's fluid and rhythmic writing and the unbridled speed it is said this is one of those books hard not to be deeply invested in. Some may not like to be plunged into the paranormal when Simone has visions, although I am not a fan, it did not bother me at all. Victor is the perfect cliché of policemen but he plays his role perfectly, I love him. As for the rest of the crew they are well- define and their roles are exciting to read.

I love this series and “Without Blood” gets 5 stars from me

This is a prequel to Never Forget, which I loved. It gives the reader a good overview of Victor Lessard's past. He has been demoted, his wife has left him, taking his two kids and he's attending AA.
There are five books in the series and I sincerely hope the rest will also be translated, BTW, the translation is excellent! I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that we will get the TV series here as well via Amazon or Netflix.
In Montreal a car is found with a body in it, a woman, Simone Fortin, is hit by a car and more bodies follow. The MO is different for each murder and Victor and his team are stumped. We don't find out the motive of the killer till the end of the book, but it's a great ride getting there. I really enjoyed the dreamlike parts featuring Simone in a coma, which added an otherworldly feeling to the story...is it real or not?
Highly recommended French Canadian noir!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Dundurn Press for an advance copy of Without Blood, the second, although first chronologically, to feature Montreal detective Victor Lessard.

A young woman is injured in a hit and run and taken to hospital. In the same hospital the chief administrator is stabbed to death and then a dead body is found in the boot of a stolen car. What links them? Lessard has his work cut out trying to find out.

I ended up really enjoying Without Blood but it is a novel of two halves with a disjointed first half that I considered abandoning and a strong second half where the disjointedness starts to come together for a strong, tense resolution.

The hit and run victim is Simone Fortin and her narrative is told in the first person and boy, what a narrative. It revolves around the supernatural or something approximating it - I’m not going to describe it as it might spoil the read - which makes her leave the hospital and go on a journey. All the other narratives are in the third person, mostly Lessard and the unnamed killer. I like Lessard who is a recovering alcoholic, separated from his wife and kids. He worries about doing the right thing professionally to solve the case but doesn’t think twice about tangling with his boss. He’s a very human man. The killer is nameless and while he obviously has a motive for his actions it’s not revealed until the denouement, therefore his sections are more about his actions and determination to finish the job.

The first half of the novel is necessarily slow in order to set up the characters and the narrative. I didn’t particularly like all the switching about as I found it difficult to get fully immersed in the novel and the woo woo bits are too much for my practical mindset. The second half is completely different. Lessard starts to get a handle on his case so the action ramps up and the read becomes tenser.

Without Blood is worth the slog of the early chapters as it becomes a good procedural.

An interesting ride, definitely recommended! Don't want to give an spoilers here, a definitely interesting mix of "supernatural", revenge, and mystery. Will keep you wondering and moving to the next page putting all the pieces together. Got a little as I would say "mashed up" here and there between character transitions, and there were some questionable actions from some of the characters, but not enough to ruin the story or ruin the reading experience. Overall an interesting mix of storylines and good cast of characters making it a recommended read.

When I first read Mr Michaud’s first book, Never Forget, I was excited to find a Canadian author I truly enjoyed, and, especially one from my birthplace of Montreal. So when his second book came out, I was apprehensive that it would't meet the same standards as he had set for the first one! Well, silly me! This second book kept me captivated enough to read the whole book in one sitting. I am quite familiar with Notre Dame de Grace (or NDG) well …as well as all the other streets mentioned. It was like sitting down with a lovely cup of tea and visiting an old friend!!! The story line was a bit confusing at the beginning … sorting out which character was talking …jumping from one scene to another. But it all sorts out and this author will have you dangling off each word, each sentence, each paragraph! He is very eloquent with his speech and his style of writing. I would also give kudos to Mr. Holden who translated the book into English …he did a phenomenal job. This is the second book Michaud has translated to English.. I truly hope he ...or his publisher decides to translate his other books …I would have loved to see how Lessard transitioned in book 1 and 2.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange of an honest and unbiased review

Thanks Netgally for allowing me to read this book. This book is about several crimes that took place in Montreal that the police believes are tied together. This book had many twists and turns. I enjoyed it from beginning to the end. I can't wait to read his next book.

Extraordinary!
I wish to express my sincere thanks to Net Galley and Dundurn Press for Without Blood by Martin Michaud. The 5 book series featuring Detective Victor Lessard was originally written in French, and are now being impeccably translated to English. This is a fast-paced, ingenious, gripping thriller. It is definitely not 'without blood'. Its suspense keeps escalating to an intense nerve-shattering crescendo. Never Forget, the first book translated was a definite favourite of mine. Any concern that Without Blood would be less exciting was soon vanquished.

Detective Victor Lessard was demoted from the Major Crimes Unit. His boss treats him with disdain. His wife left him and took their two teenaged children. He is a recovering alcoholic who has struggled with the urge to drink.

There are twists and turns and red herrings galore. I was completely baffled where it was all leading, but so were Lessard and his colleagues. A diabolical killer is on the streets of Montreal. A top hospital administrator has been stabbed to death in his office. A second man has also been murdered. His severed finger has been taken as a trophy, or perhaps, Lessard believes, to use its print to unlock a safe or computer. A woman, Simone, has been left in a coma after a hit and run.

Detective Lessard finds evidence that the deceased hospital administrator may have been running a sex and drug ring attended by the rich and powerful. He secretly filmed the guests and their antics. Was blackmail a motive? Was the young woman now lying in a coma in hospital one of the sex workers? The police chief wants this part of the investigation to end. Is he a part of the scandal and blackmail? Is there any connection between the three victims?

During the ongoing investigation, Simone recovers from her coma. Against medical advice, she walks out of the hospital. She is in a desperate search to find a man, Miles, who helped her when she was hit by the vehicle. They spent the day together and she feels a close connection with him. Her search seems futile and she makes some mind-shattering discoveries. She meets a man, Kurt Waldorf, who has had some contact with Miles. Kurt has Miles' son, Laurent tied up in an apartment. Is Laurent to be the next murder victim?

While Simone searches for Miles, the murderer is stalking her. He aims to finish the job that the hit and run vehicle failed to do. Lessard and Simone's roommate are at the beginning of a romantic relationship. How does that work out for them? Lessard receives a distressing phone call. His son has come too close to a murder victim's corpse. Lessard's boss is impatient with the lack of a solution in the case and wants to assign it to the provincial police force. Two more bloody, brutal murders occur.

There are seemingly unsolvable puzzles. One mystery is inexplicable through medical science and may insert a touch of the supernatural into the story.
I wait impatiently for the remaining books in the Victor Lessard series to be translated and published. There was a popular TV series based on these books that ran for three seasons on a Quebec network. I hope that it eventually lands on one of our streaming services. Recommended.