A very short novel, it takes a while to take off but, once it does, it's impossible to stop reading. Albert has been away for 6 years and, upon returning to Paris, he finds himself involved with a mysterious woman. When he finds the woman's husband dead after what looks like a suicide, he gets entangled in a case that makes him believe that he is losing his mind. The first part was a little slow, but it shows beautiful Paris from Albert's eyes. Once he meets Mme. Davert, everything happens very quickly. How did the body disappear? And why can't he do the sensible thing and run away as fast as he can? At moments, I kept yelling at Albert - why do you keep getting involved? This will not end well. When the story reaches its very well thought conclusion, I couldn't see it ending any other way. A gem of a story and worth the hour it takes to read it.

I am afraid I think the translation was a little wooden, but the proof copy was so poor (some kind of global edit error on all f's????) it may have been the distraction of translating this which drive this impression. The structure of the novel is well matched to the plot line and while I was expecting a twist of sorts I did not expect the ending. A very satisfying read.

Thank you Net Galley. A beautiful introduction to the work of the author. Short, easy to read at a sitting and well plotted. An absolute delight to read and highly recommended to all who enjoy good thrillers..

This is a bittersweet novel with a perfect 1950s setting, which reminded me a little of Pascal Garnier. Albert returns to his old neighbourhood in Paris after his mother's death (having spent several years in prison) and is captivated by a beautiful woman and her young child, whom he sees eating alone in a restaurant on Christmas Eve. He becomes involved in a very complicated and dubious story with the woman, her husband and the Midnight Mass for Christmas. A clever puzzle and a rather quiet, gentle man who is clearly being manipulated, although we are not quite sure how.