The Circle: A Novel (Commandant Martin Servaz) - Hardcover

Minier, Bernard

4.01

3,624 ratings by Goodreads

9781250045546: The Circle: A Novel (Commandant Martin Servaz)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1250045541 ISBN 13: 9781250045546

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2015

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They find the boy by the swimming pool, dolls floating on its surface.

Inside the house, his teacher lies dead.

But he claims to remember nothing...

June 2010. In the middle of a World Cup match, Martin Servaz receives a call from a long-lost lover. A few miles away in the town of Marsac, Classics professor Claire Diemar has been brutally murdered.

As if that weren't disturbing enough, Servaz receives a cryptic e-mail indicating that Julian Hirtmann, the most twisted of all serial killers, is back...and hitting a little too close to home. With death and chaos surrounding the small university town in Southern France where he was once a student and where his daughter is now enrolled, Servaz must act quickly.

With the help of detectives Irene Ziegler and Esperandieu, Servaz will have to uncover a world of betrayal and depravity to connect the dots between these gruesome murders that keep re-opening wounds from his past. After the success of The Frozen Dead, Bernard Minier plunges readers once again into a perfectly constructed, dark and oppressive atmosphere, driven foreward by a gripping plot, pushing the limits of the genre.

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About the Author:

BERNARD MINIER grew up in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. He had a career as a customs official before publishing his first novel, The Frozen Dead, in 2011. The novel has been translated into a dozen languages and has garnered critical acclaim as well as several literary prizes in France. Minier lives in the Essonne, south of Paris.

Review:

“French author Minier's second psychological whodunit featuring Commandant Martin Servaz shows his mastery of the creepy setup...the Russian nesting doll of a plot is perfectly executed and delivers two genuine gut punches at the end.” ―Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"Minier delivers yet another absorbing thriller that will keep readers guessing until the final shocking pages. Set in southern France, this satisfying read will entice fans of dark, gritty Scandinavian thrillers who will find Martin Servaz reminiscent of Jo Nesb�’s Harry Hole."―Library Journal (starred review)

“Two years ago I reviewed Minier's debut crime novel, The Frozen Dead, which was quite exceptional. This, his second, is every bit its equal. The Frozen Dead has been listed as one of the 50 best crime novels of the past five years, and its sequel deserves to join it. The sense of creeping dread is viciously sharp and painful in both.” ―Daily Mail UK

“Intense and intellectual, Commandant Servaz revisits his past amours in a Pyrenees university town in this clever atmospheric thriller. A gripping read.” ―The Times, UK

“Over the past few years , France has produced some of Europe's most striking and original crime novelists. Bernard Minier is up there with the best and has just published a second novel quite as good as his sensational debut, The Frozen Dead. CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH.” ―The Sunday Times, UK

“You'll find you cannot stop imbibing this vintage crime thriller.” ―Express (UK)

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