This is the first novel I have ever read by French writer Michel Bussi, and it certainly drew me in quickly. It’s a thriller that definitely kept me guessing…

Martial and Liane Bellion are on holiday in the French island of Reunion when Liane goes missing after leaving the hotel pool to go up to their room. All evidence points to Martial having murdered her, and when he goes on the run, an island-wide manhunt is set up by the police in order to catch him. Beyond that it is difficult to say much without giving away spoilers, and this is a book that really deserves to be read spoiler-free.

On the whole I enjoyed it, as the writing was fast-paced and almost every chapter ended in a cliffhanger. The initial mystery was very intriguing and well put together. I also enjoyed reading about Reunion, a place which I admit I had never heard of prior to reading this, but I felt that the island almost became one of the characters in the story.

However, I did not feel that the main characters were particularly well fleshed out; I did like the police officer Christos and his girlfriend Imelda, but other than that the characterisation was thin. Not altogether a bad thing, as this is definitely a plot driven story, but I would have liked to have had someone to really root for.

Although I was absorbed in the story right until the end, I did feel that the ending itself was a bit of a let-down. This is probably because the story had started off and carried along at high-octane pace so the conclusion felt like an anti-climax; just my opinion and I suspect lots of readers will disagree with me.

One thing to note – some of the characters are told in third person and some are told from different characters’ points of view. This wasn’t a problem, and I generally enjoy multiple narrators but some readers may not like it.

Essentially this was a quick and enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading more by Michel Bussi. ( )

I picked up Don't Let Go because the premise sounded intriguing and because I'd never read anything set on Réunion Island which is east of Madagascar. I got a good feel for the location in terms of landscape, weather, and its rather complicated social history, and that's always a plus for this armchair traveler. Another plus is that the book satisfies more than that one reading necessity.

The point of view switches back and forth from the local police captain to her second-in-command to the prime suspect to his daughter and to perhaps my favorite character, Imelda, the mistress of Christos (the second-in-command) whom he calls the black Miss Marple. This changing point of view keeps up the fast pace, and it certainly keeps readers guessing. I was very pleased to discover that the characters were more fleshed out than in a typical thriller and that they didn't always behave the way I thought they would.

The plot is the sort that you really can't say much about without giving things away, but I will say that I did enjoy myself working out exactly what was going on as Bussi divvied out a morsel of information at a time. In fact, I enjoyed myself so much that I'm going to be on the lookout for more books by this author... even if he does wax a bit too poetic when writing death scenes. ( )

I think I would read anything this author wrote. He is a genius at coming up with twists you don’t see coming. I still think he’s a genius but I didn’t get on with this as well as his others. It’s a bit more of a conventional crime novel/police procedural albeit set on an idyllic island not much visited by literature. The underlying mystery felt a bit unsavoury and the ending profoundly sad. Better to remember the scattering of humour in the earlier stages, most notably the interviewing of the suspect’s friends at the hotel (“Take that, lawyer! A solid blow from the right.”) Brilliant, brilliant line within its context, and worth reading for that alone. ( )

Busssi shows us a world within another world ; that of people of color and the prejudices which the tourists do not see. He describes the island so well that you feel as if you were there, and finishes with a final word so moving it demands thought, and even an immediate re-read. (Also may go well with [b:Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment|353598|Black Feminist Thought Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment|Patricia Hill Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388468213s/353598.jpg|1196134], many thanks to Ruth for her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1356704325?book_show_action=false&from....

Shira HoloceneHuman Era Destinie
24 August, 12015 HE

BUSSI nous montre le monde dans un autre monde, celle de gens de couleur et les préjuges invisibles aux touristes. Il décrit l’île si bien qu'on se sent la-ba même, et fini la dernier mot si jaillissant qu'on ne peut pas s’arrêter de y penser, et même le relire tout de suite.

24,8,12 015 èH( ère Holocène ou ère Humaine)
ShiraDest

( )

Busssi shows us a world within another world ; that of people of color and the prejudices which the tourists do not see. He describes the island so well that you feel as if you were there, and finishes with a final word so moving it demands thought, and even an immediate re-read. (Also may go well with [b:Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment|353598|Black Feminist Thought Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment|Patricia Hill Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388468213s/353598.jpg|1196134], many thanks to Ruth for her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1356704325?book_show_action=false&from....

Shira HoloceneHuman Era Destinie
24 August, 12015 HE

BUSSI nous montre le monde dans un autre monde, celle de gens de couleur et les préjuges invisibles aux touristes. Il décrit l’île si bien qu'on se sent la-ba même, et fini la dernier mot si jaillissant qu'on ne peut pas s’arrêter de y penser, et même le relire tout de suite.

24,8,12 015 èH( ère Holocène ou ère Humaine)
ShiraDest

( )