The Awkward Squad

by Sophie Hénaff

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Pub Date Apr 03 2018 | Archive Date Apr 16 2018

Quercus (US) | MacLehose Press

Mystery & Thrillers

Description

Officer Anne Capestan's team of misfits will have to work together to investigate a decades-old unsolved murder . . . and in the process uncover a trail of corruption that leads to the top of the Paris police force.

"Marvelous . . . An absorbing, sometimes laugh-out-loud mystery." --New York Journal of Book

"A delightful creation." --The Times

"Quirky and interesting . . . Much to savor." --Library Journal

Was the old lady murdered seven years ago really just the victim of a botched robbery? Who was behind the dead sailor discovered in the Seine with three gunshot wounds? And why does there seem to be a curious link with a ferry that was shipwrecked off the Florida coast many years previously?

Suspended from her job as a promising police officer for firing "one bullet too many," Anne Capestan is expecting the worst when she is summoned to HQ to learn her fate. Instead, she is told that she will head up a new police squad, working on solving long-abandoned cold cases.

Though relieved to still have a job, Capestan is not overjoyed by the prospect of her new role--and even less so when she meets her new team: a crowd of misfits, troublemakers, and problem cases, none of whom are fit for purpose and yet none of whom can be fired.

Officer Anne Capestan's team of misfits will have to work together to investigate a decades-old unsolved murder . . . and in the process uncover a trail of corruption that leads to the top of the...

Advance Praise

"Hénaff's Capestan is a delightful creation, the members of her team amusing and the book lively."
--- Marcel Berlins, The Times

"Capestan's crew positively sparkle with life, and it is full of very lively humor."
--- Shots Magazine

"Both amusing and interesting to watch this awkward squad gradually acquiring an esprit de corps . . . This very enjoyable tale has deservingly won several French literary prizes."
--- Literary Review

"Misfit Paris cops bring an entertaining collection of idiosyncrasies to the newly-formed cold-case team headed by impetuous detective Anne Capestan--though the fun has to stop as they start to piece together evidence of serious corruption in high places."
--- Crime Club

"Original and amusing, it's French noir with a sly smile."
--- The Times

"Hénaff's Capestan is a delightful creation, the members of her team amusing and the book lively."
--- Marcel Berlins, The Times

"Capestan's crew positively sparkle with life, and it is full of...