In his first novel Irene Pierre Lemaitre comes up with a clever way to pay tribute to the writers that have inspired him, while at the same time creating something unique and original himself.

This is the first of the Verhoeven books, set in Paris and featuring Commandant Verhoeven, the taciturn leader of a squad in the brigade criminelle. Verhoeven is a dwarf, and has struggled at times in his career and in his personal life because of this. This seems to be behind him as he is at his peak professionally, married to a beautiful wife and with a baby on the way. Life should be good for Verhoeven, but it isn’t.

Verhoeven is investigating a series of brutal murders of young women. (Be aware, Lemaitre’s descriptions of the crimes are strong stuff). The crime scenes are meticulously prepared and forensics can find little or no evidence. The squad have virtually nothing to go on, and Verhoeven finds himself crossing swords with the Juge and with a tabloid journalist. When a second crime emerges, Verhoeven makes a connection that even he can’t quite believe and he is plunged into a dark and horrifying pursuit.

In the last act, Lemaitre pulls off an artful narrative trick that gives the story a kick, but still feels a bit too clever by half. Apart from that though, Irene is a pulsing yarn with a unique protagonist and a chilling and original plot. I would probably have given this 5 stars except that I read Alex before this one, and Lemaitre completely gives away the ending of Irene in his second novel. So read these in order, if you want to get the most out of them. ( )

Wow! From the first sentence I couldn't put this one down--or, it was hard to stop and even get dinner, I was so gripped by this book and pulled into this world. A serial killer is on the loose and derives the way he kills people as an exact replication of scenes in various crime novels. For that the newspaper dubs him "The Novelist." For most of the story I wondered about Irene, Camille's wife--why was the book called by her name? What was her importance to and role in the story? In the final chapters I found out. A grisly and grim novel, even OTT is places, I shivered my way through. Just when I thought I had the plot figured out, there would be another twist, completely unexpected, that threw me off. Altogether, one of the best detective novels I've come across.

Highly recommended. ( )

Same review for all 3 books!

This is a French detective trilogy and it centres on Camille Verhœven, who is a male dwarf detective. Yes you read that correctly.

These three books have a thread and they should be read in the order above.

How lovely to read something that is so French you can smell the coffee and Gauloise.

Very stylish and incredibly well written. The fact that main character is a dwarf is almost lost in these stories even though it is mentioned repeatedly it is not a cornerstone of the story, it more like a background detail. When they make the movies or more likely the Amazon/Netflix TV Series I am sure it will become a bigger issue which would be a shame because the stories do not need a prop to help them along.

I devoured these 3 books like the sharp tasting food that they were. It is a detective series so there are no surprises about what you are dealing with, only the way it all pans out.

If you like detective novels then you must read these. Simply brilliant. ( )

Pretty nasty stuff. There's a nice novel within the novel twist, but it still feels dirty without redemption. I guess I'll go on and read Alex but I'm not sure where he can go from here. ( )

Irene. Pierre LeMaitre. 2006. This is the first volume of a trilogy, and for some reason, I read second volume, Alex, first. Irene is much better. Noted Commandant Camille Verhoeven is assigned to investigate a gruesome murder. Almost before the team can get started the newspapers find out about the murder and then another murder is discovered that is just as gruesome. Verhoeven realizes that the maniac has committed more murders and that each murder is recreation of a famous crime novel; and the press dubs him “The Novelist.” Verhoeven must juggle his supervisors, the press, his team, as he works on the case and takes care of his very pregnant wife. The novel is very violent and a real page turner. Readers of murder mysteries will recognize the books mentioned. It is just good; I wish LeMaitre would make it a series. ( )