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The Lying Down Room (Serge Morel 1) by Anna…
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The Lying Down Room (Serge Morel 1) (edition 2014)

by Anna Jaquiery

Series: Serge Morel (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
324744,708 (3.05)7
At night Armand lay in bed with a sadness in his heart that ballooned until there was room for nothing else. He thought with horror of the lying-down room . . . Paris; in the stifling August heat, Commandant Serge Morel is called to a disturbing crime scene. An elderly woman has been murdered to the soundtrack of Faure's Requiem, her body then grotesquely displayed. At first this strange case seems to offer few clues; and Morel has problems of his own. His father - always a great force in his life - is beginning to succumb to senility; and he is unsettled by the reappearance of the beautiful Mathilde, the woman he once loved. Only origami can help calm the detective and focus his thoughts on this troubling crime. As the investigation progresses, the key suspects to emerge are a middle-aged man and a mute teenage boy who have been delivering religious pamphlets in the city's suburbs. But as more elderly ladies are targeted, Morel will find his enquiries leading him back into the past, from the French countryside to Soviet Russia - and to two young boys with the most terrible of stories to tell . . . An evocative, gripping crime novel with an aching heart: The Lying-Down Room is the stunning first novel in Anna Jaquiery's Commandant Morel series; perfect for fans of Michael Dibdin and Donna Leon.… (more)
Member:infosleuth
Title:The Lying Down Room (Serge Morel 1)
Authors:Anna Jaquiery
Info:Mantle (2014), Edition: Main Market Ed., Hardcover, 256 pages
Collections:All books read, Read but unowned
Rating:****
Tags:Australian author, crime fiction, Paris, police procedural, trauma, orphaned children, murder

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The Lying Down Room by Anna Jaquiery

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Showing 4 of 4
I came to The Lying Down Room by a circuitous route. The second book in the series really caught my eye, primarily because it takes place in Cambodia, but I decided to read the first book to get a better feel for the character of Commandant Morel. I wish I'd gone ahead and read that second book first.

This mystery is well-plotted and has a good smooth pace that moves the story right along. Jaquiery gives readers a strong portrait of Paris in August-- particularly of the murderous traffic and of Président Sarkozy's policies. We're told that "over the past six months Morel's team had closed more cases than any other team at the Criminal Brigade," and we're introduced to them, but the introductions are rather hit or miss. Morel feels that one member belongs elsewhere, and the one that readers see most is Lila Markov of the IQ of 174. She spends the entire book in a perpetual bad mood and just made me want to tell her to get over herself.

Morel has a lot on his plate because budget cuts mean fewer police officers to do more work. His father is in the beginning stages of dementia, and when Morel needs to decompress, he either makes a complicated origami bird or visits his married mistress. All the bones of The Lying Down Room are good, but I didn't particularly enjoy the book because I felt as though I were being kept at a distance; I never felt fully engaged with the story or with the characters. Now I need to decide if I want to follow Morel to Cambodia. If I do, it won't be in the immediate future. ( )
  cathyskye | Oct 29, 2018 |
The Lying Down Room introduces us to Commandant Serge Morel of the Paris police with his team, Lila Markov, Jean Char, Marco Lancel and Akil Abdelkader and also Morel's boss, Commissaire Olivier Perrin. The story opens in Paris in the stifling August heat, and Morel is called to examine a disturbing crime scene. An elderly woman has been brutally murdered to the soundtrack of Faure’s Requiem, and her body grotesquely displayed. The reasons for this murder and the choice of victim baffle Morel and his team. The only suspects which emerge in the murder of Isabelle Dufour are a middle-aged man and a mute teenage boy who have been delivering religious tracts in several of the city suburbs. The investigation will reach much further, though, into Soviet Russia and the cruelties of the orphanage system.

Morel also has some personal problems. He has difficulty committing to a relationship, but he's not above stalking a woman he once loved. He lives at home with his father who was once a significant presence in his life and who is beginning to succumb to senility. Morel's one real pleasure seems to be origami.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot is more complex than at first seems likely. Morel is a man of contradictions with his character being all the more emotionally interesting for it, and consequently the scene is set for further exploration of this detective. I can't wait to get the second book in this compelling series, Death in the Rainy Season.
( )
  Olivermagnus | Jan 17, 2016 |
"I'd be interested in future installments as I did really enjoy Morel but the story and motivations of the killers were less entertaining or believable."
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.gr/2015/02/the-lying-down-room-anna-jaquiery.htm... ( )
  mongoosenamedt | Feb 19, 2015 |
THE LYING-DOWN ROOM takes place during a stifling Parisian summer. Commandant Serge Morel and his team are called to the scene of an unusual death. An elderly woman has been murdered and displayed bizarrely afterwards. There are few clues aside from some odd-looking religious pamphlets found in the house. Several other elderly woman contact the police regarding a strange pair of religious zealots calling on them but is there a connection? And if so how on earth will police track down the pair who’ve left no indication of who they are or what organisation they are affiliated with?

It must be so hard for a modern crime writer to develop a main character that is different enough to stand out from the crowd but not so different they are just a collection of quirks but Jaquiery has managed it with aplomb. Serge Morel is a delight to meet. He is middle-aged and lives with his father. He does have a relationship of sorts – one my mother would describe as ‘very French’ – but is somewhat obsessed by an old girlfriend. He is good at his work and dedicated to it, only relieving his stress through complex origami, which also helps to gives us an indication that Morel will not be the kind of cop who rushes to judgement.. In short he has some minor flaws but is not a slave to alcohol or the other demons common to fictional detectives and yet he is intriguing. There is the makings of a good duo between Morel and his immediate subordinate, Lila Markov. She is younger and a little more vulnerable, though can hold her own with the misogynistic pathologist, and I would be keen to see more of her, and the two working together, in the future instalments I hope are to come. In fact the whole team dynamic has a realistic feel to it, helped by along by the inclusion of relatively minor points but ones which bring the group to life such as the colleague who is missing work most days because his is terminally ill and the team all struggle to overcome the awkwardness of the situation.

The story is a winner too, taking us all over Paris, into rural France and even into Russia as it provides an explanation for the woman’s death and the crimes which follow it. I thought Jaquiery did a great job of building us up to the end so that it wasn’t so much a ‘gotcha’ dénouement but a careful revelation that is entirely understandable. As well as the parts of the story that deal with the investigation and the personal lives of the investigators we also see some of the story unfold from the point of view of the main suspect and both elements are handled equally well.

THE LYING-DOWN ROOM has lingered in my mind for the week or so since I finished it which is always a sign to me of an above average read. Its characters make me want to know them more and I can’t wait to return to France and see what they are all up to. Strongly recommended.
  bsquaredinoz | Jan 20, 2015 |
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At night Armand lay in bed with a sadness in his heart that ballooned until there was room for nothing else. He thought with horror of the lying-down room . . . Paris; in the stifling August heat, Commandant Serge Morel is called to a disturbing crime scene. An elderly woman has been murdered to the soundtrack of Faure's Requiem, her body then grotesquely displayed. At first this strange case seems to offer few clues; and Morel has problems of his own. His father - always a great force in his life - is beginning to succumb to senility; and he is unsettled by the reappearance of the beautiful Mathilde, the woman he once loved. Only origami can help calm the detective and focus his thoughts on this troubling crime. As the investigation progresses, the key suspects to emerge are a middle-aged man and a mute teenage boy who have been delivering religious pamphlets in the city's suburbs. But as more elderly ladies are targeted, Morel will find his enquiries leading him back into the past, from the French countryside to Soviet Russia - and to two young boys with the most terrible of stories to tell . . . An evocative, gripping crime novel with an aching heart: The Lying-Down Room is the stunning first novel in Anna Jaquiery's Commandant Morel series; perfect for fans of Michael Dibdin and Donna Leon.

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