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kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
This year I promised myself a read through of the entire Pushkin Vertigo series, starting out with SHE WHO WAS NO MORE by Pierre Boileau and Pierre Ayraud (aka Thomas Narcejac), originally published in 1952. Collaborating as they did on mainly police stories I found the idea that Boilea was responsible for the plot and Narcejac the atmosphere and characters particularly intriguing. Both of which aspects really delivered in this novel - the story of an unfaithful husband, his ambitious doctor lover Lucienne, and his passive, stay at home wife Mireille. Lucience and Fernard Ravinel conspire to, and ultimately drown Mireille in the bath, transporting her body a long distance back to the Ravinel home by car to leave it to be discovered in a way that would indicate accidental death.
Only the body, carefully laid out by Ravinel, disappears before any such discovery can be made, and sightings of his dead wife (his lover is a doctor after all - surely she can recognise death when she sees it) start to reveal themselves, leaving Ravinel unraveling - his plot and his sanity.
Atmospheric, restrained and deeply dark noir, SHE WHO WAS NO MORE was utterly compelling reading. Carefully plotted there's little that can be said about that aspect without giving away a lot (and to be honest, astute readers may pick up on a series of clues along the way), but more's to the point with this book, it's the unraveling of Ravinel that's the most fascinating aspect. That and the wonderful combination of dark, rundown, almost seedy locations, the contrasts between foggy landscapes and thinking, and the almost visual aspects of the characterisations. You can clearly see expressions, thoughts and confusion on faces. You can feel the rooms they move through, the places they are in, the air that they are breathing. It's utterly mesmerising and you can see why there are multiple movies made of this story, and why the earlier of those (The Devils) is said to have inspired Psycho.
Another one of those reading quests that I wish I could devote more time to - the second book on my pile from the same series is I WAS JACK MORTIMER by Alexander Lernet-Holenia. It's only going to need to be half as good to make me very pleased with this decision and desperate to find the time to read more from their fabulous set of books.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/she-who-was-no-more-pierre-boileau-and-thomas-narcejac
Only the body, carefully laid out by Ravinel, disappears before any such discovery can be made, and sightings of his dead wife (his lover is a doctor after all - surely she can recognise death when she sees it) start to reveal themselves, leaving Ravinel unraveling - his plot and his sanity.
Atmospheric, restrained and deeply dark noir, SHE WHO WAS NO MORE was utterly compelling reading. Carefully plotted there's little that can be said about that aspect without giving away a lot (and to be honest, astute readers may pick up on a series of clues along the way), but more's to the point with this book, it's the unraveling of Ravinel that's the most fascinating aspect. That and the wonderful combination of dark, rundown, almost seedy locations, the contrasts between foggy landscapes and thinking, and the almost visual aspects of the characterisations. You can clearly see expressions, thoughts and confusion on faces. You can feel the rooms they move through, the places they are in, the air that they are breathing. It's utterly mesmerising and you can see why there are multiple movies made of this story, and why the earlier of those (The Devils) is said to have inspired Psycho.
Another one of those reading quests that I wish I could devote more time to - the second book on my pile from the same series is I WAS JACK MORTIMER by Alexander Lernet-Holenia. It's only going to need to be half as good to make me very pleased with this decision and desperate to find the time to read more from their fabulous set of books.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/she-who-was-no-more-pierre-boileau-and-thomas-narcejac
pino_sabatelli's review against another edition
4.0
Un libro davvero molto bello: essenziale, tagliente, secco, dalla struttura nitida e perfetta, Diaboliciche avvince il lettore senza ricorrere a effetti speciali, trucchi tecnologici, colpi di scena incalzanti. E non è un caso che, nelle note di copertina, venga paragonato, del tutto a proposito, ai “migliori romanzi di Simenon”. Anche qui, infatti, più che i personaggi sono le atmosfere a farla da padrone, descritte con pochi tratti e che pure escono dalla pagina con vividezza impressionante. Un giallo che indaga gli aspetti psicologici del crimine, e in particolare le conseguenze del senso di colpa su Fernand Ravinel, un uomo debole e banale che, soggiogato da una passione erotica che ne sconvolge la tranquilla esistenza, si illude di essere padrone del proprio destino, finendo invece per essere risucchiato da un gorgo mentale in cui la realtà sembra giocare a rimpiattino con l’allucinazione e in cui la coscienza emette una sentenza inappellabile. Una partita a scacchi in cui il povero rappresentante di commercio si rivelerà una semplice pedina, sacrificata senza troppi scrupoli da chi ha tenuto il gioco in mano sin dall’inizio.
Insomma un gran libro, la cui architettura e il cui stile dovrebbero essere studiati con attenzione dai moderni autori di noir.
Insomma un gran libro, la cui architettura e il cui stile dovrebbero essere studiati con attenzione dai moderni autori di noir.
la_yle's review against another edition
4.0
Molto ben costruito. Molto molto ben costruito.
Un thriller a rovescio, o forse no.
Un gotico psicologico, o forse no.
Non sai dove ti vuole portare l'autore, praticamente mai. Eppure ti lasci trasportare moooooooolto volentieri qui e lì per una trama che fai fatica a mettere giù.
Splendide atmosfere, ottima ambientazione.
E in poche pagine ci sono anche dei popò di personaggi.
Consigliato!
Un thriller a rovescio, o forse no.
Un gotico psicologico, o forse no.
Non sai dove ti vuole portare l'autore, praticamente mai. Eppure ti lasci trasportare moooooooolto volentieri qui e lì per una trama che fai fatica a mettere giù.
Splendide atmosfere, ottima ambientazione.
E in poche pagine ci sono anche dei popò di personaggi.
Consigliato!
lubie_'s review against another edition
4.0
Molto ben costruito. Molto molto ben costruito.
Un thriller a rovescio, o forse no.
Un gotico psicologico, o forse no.
Non sai dove ti vuole portare l'autore, praticamente mai. Eppure ti lasci trasportare moooooooolto volentieri qui e lì per una trama che fai fatica a mettere giù.
Splendide atmosfere, ottima ambientazione.
E in poche pagine ci sono anche dei popò di personaggi.
Consigliato!
Un thriller a rovescio, o forse no.
Un gotico psicologico, o forse no.
Non sai dove ti vuole portare l'autore, praticamente mai. Eppure ti lasci trasportare moooooooolto volentieri qui e lì per una trama che fai fatica a mettere giù.
Splendide atmosfere, ottima ambientazione.
E in poche pagine ci sono anche dei popò di personaggi.
Consigliato!
bethebluebook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
somelitreference's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wasn't blind-sided by the plot-twist, but I also didn't "crack the case" before the book's end. Short and clever. Characters were a bit flat, boring, or both, but they were distinct in personality. I would have appreciated a more thorough reveal of the plot twist. However, I did appreciate the mysterious quality to the ending.
outtiegw's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
paulataua's review against another edition
4.0
Traveling salesman Fernand and his lover have a plan to murder his wife and collect the two million franc insurance money. Things don’t quite go as planned. My second Boileau-Narcejac thriller, my first being ‘the Living and the Dead’ that inspired Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’. This one has a really good build up with fascinating complications, and while not as convincing as 'Vertigo', it still makes pretty good reading. Again I followed reading the book by watching the movie it inspired, ‘Diabolique’ (1955). It’s a really good movie, but here as with 'Vertigo', I preferred the ending in the book to the one in the movie.
udu_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75