Bernard Minier

The Frozen Dead is a slow chill that eventually and finally overtakes you. You hear about dangerous treks in the Pyrenees where people get lost and freeze--well this is one of them. A brooding French detective and a homicide investigation of a rich man's horse open this tale and it gets weirder. An asylum with only the most criminally insane in the world, strange summer camps, a long list of suspects for the careful reader. Are you freezing yet? This reminds me of how I felt reading Girl show more with the Dragon Tattoo-- so many directions but which way to go. Only to the end, where Minier pulls it all together, successfully, amazingly, together. And now you're ready to thaw out and start the next case. A slow but satisfying winter storm of a read.

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Inspector Servaz is not happy to be called off the violent murder of a homeless man to investigate the mutilation of a horse even if it happens to be the favourite animal of a multi-millionaire. However, the crime is so bizarre , he becomes intrigued despite himself – the beheaded corpse of the horse has been left suspended from a cable car terminus at a power plant. Despite the obvious fact that this would have required a great deal of effort, the guards at the plant claim to have no idea show more how the horse got up there. As Servaz digs further into the horse and its owners, it becomes clear that all of this is somehow linked to a nearby physichiatric hospital which houses some of the most notorious serial killers in Toulouse as well as to a series of teenaged suicides that occurred years earlier.

The Frozen Dead is the debut novel by French author Bernard Minier and it is dark, atmospheric and chilling. Set in the Pyrenees in the dead of winter, cold, in both character and weather, plays an important role throughout. The characters, themselves, are well-drawn and believable. The story begins slowly, giving the reader time to appreciate the strange nature of the crime but quickly builds in tension and red herrings until the explosive denouement. This is the kind of tale that, once started, is almost impossible to put down so be warned, this is a fairly long book clocking in at almost 500 pages, so be prepared for a couple of sleepless night. show less

This is a tale of murder and revenge set in the harshness of a Pyrenees winter where the atmosphere is influenced as much by the wilderness and the snow as by the unfolding events. The decapitated body of a horse found hanging from a frozen cliff triggers the involvement of Toulouse police Commandant Martin Servaz, but it isn’t long before human bodies start turning up. The killings are taking place in close proximity to a secure institution for the criminally insane where a Swiss show more psychologist taking up her new post is immediately faced with suspicious happenings. A link between the killings and the asylum soon becomes apparent when one inmate’s DNA shows up at a crime scene. Throw in the involvement of one of France’s wealthiest men and the suicide of several teenagers some years before and you have here a well formed and intricate plot line, to which can be added some interesting and complex characters who I think will attract your interest every bit as much as the story line. Mind you I have to venture that the antics of the young psychologist in satisfying her curiosity, and in so doing putting herself in harms-way, does beggar belief a bit. The author does however make a good fist of building the suspense and creating an atmospheric novel. Without giving too much away, it is fitting that the harsh environment has a role to play right to the end. As to the ending, some good thrillers I find struggle to deliver an ending to match the rest of the book, and while the ending here is not a let-down, it is not the books strongest aspect.

Published in France in 2011 (English translation 2013), where it proved a bestseller, this is the first novel from French thriller writer Bernard Minier. He has since written a second novel featuring the same police commandant (not yet in translation), and I look forward to that in time. 3.5 stars out of 5 from me. show less

Like a 3.8 rounded up.

The Frozen Dead is definitely not a cozy read; it's more of a police procedural where the cops are faced with some pretty grisly crimes.

[if you want plot, you'll find it at the crime page of my online reading journal blog.]

There are really three mysteries at the heart of this story. First, of course, is the mystery of who is behind a series of murders; second (related to the first) is the connection that links all of these deaths together, and third is the puzzler show more behind what's going on at the Wargnier Institute that houses the worst of the worst of the criminally insane. As a whole, the book is well crafted and suspenseful enough to keep the reader turning pages, with an added bonus of a number of plausible suspects to keep the reader guessing. I thought I had it figured out twice and was way off the mark both times. For me, that's the sign of a good crime writer -- if I can't guess the who or the why, well, I'm happy that the author didn't make things so easy, appealing to the armchair detective in me. This is also a very atmospheric book -- and not just because of the inclusion of an asylum for the criminally insane. The author is very good at ratcheting tension, always maintaining an aura of suspense throughout. Plus, the story goes back in time to revisit the sins of the past and how they've come to haunt the present. Another appealing and well-crafted aspect of this novel is the author's evocation of place -- not only the physical locale (which made me want to bundle up and visit there in the winter) but also in terms of the social ills of the times: senseless violence as an outlet for the younger generation, the state of mental health treatment, corporate greed, power and influence, and much more.

Turning to the niggles: the biggest one is that while I was okay (and surprised) with who the culprit turned out to be, the ending was off somehow -- it was like the author put in so much time and detail into the overall investigation and then well, there's the end of the book. Very quick, very short, and not enough explanation to make it completely satisfying. There's also the time spent in this book on the main character's relationship with his daughter and his past -- this is a personal preference, and I realize that authors want their main characters to come off as real as possible, but there are ways to accomplish this without clogging the main flow of the crime story. I know most other people don't seem to mind this aspect of crime novels so much -- but to me, it just gets in the way of what's going on in the investigation. It also adds a lot of a) distraction and b) unnecessary page count.

I have to say that even with the niggles I really liked The Frozen Dead, and I'll be eagerly awaiting the release of other books from this author. This isn't a book for the fainthearted cozy reader, and it's much better than many police procedurals I've read in the past. It's a clever mix of mystery and suspense that will keep the reader guessing right up until the very end. Definitely recommended for fans of translated crime fiction and those readers who want something with much more edge than the average police procedural. show less