Review

Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Allan Massie - better known in Scotland as a journalist - surprised me with this atmospheric detective story set in the early days of World War 2 as the Germans occupy France. The story - two, actually - weaves in with description of how different sections of local society view events as they unfold around them. I like Massie's central character Superintendent Lannes, but I like sidekicks, too, especially the enthusiastic René. By and large, though, all the characters are pretty rounded, and like Philip Kerr Massie even allows for the possibility of the 'acceptable Nazi'.

There's an interesting, measured pace about the novel which is reminiscent of Fred Vargas, and of Siménon before that. I'm not sure if there's something peculiar about the French that lends itself to the quieter style - probably there are hard-boiled French crime novels out there, I just haven't stumbled across them yet.

I was lent this by a friend, who claims there's at least one more. I look forward to it.

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