From the master of French noir and winner of the French Voices Prize, a gripping mystery about the blossoming of poisonous passions set in the brooding landscapes of Gironde, France

When Franck gets out after five years in jail, he expects to find the brother he protected with his silence—instead, waiting for him is his brother Fabien’s girlfriend. Jessica takes him to the gloomy country house where she lives with her cantankerous, hard-drinking parents, her eight-year old daughter, Rachel—who doesn’t speak, hardly eats, and seems to be carrying a secret much bigger than herself—and a large mastiff dog they all seem to fear.

Time passes, Fabien doesn’t return, and Franck is increasingly mystified by Jessica’s behavior, seductive at times, hostile at others. Nonetheless, Franck follows her around on her crazy nocturnal rounds until he finds himself with a gun pointed at his head. It’s the beginning of a crescendo of retaliation in a gang war in which Franck believes he is participating, only to realize he’s merely a sacrificial pawn.

In the scorching heat of the summer, love and violence, sweetness and blood, will result in an unpredictable ending, one that perhaps only the little girl knew from the start.

About the Authors

Herv� Le Corre is one of the foremost voices of contemporary French noir. He’s the author of several award-winning crime fiction novels, including Talking to Ghosts (2014), and After the War (Maclehose Press 2015), and In the Shadow of the Fire (Europa Editions, 2021).

Award-winning translator Howard Curtis has worked on more than sixty books from French, Italian and Spanish. Among his recent translations for Europa are works by Jean-Claude Izzo and Santiago Gamboa.

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