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A review by rowingrabbit
Crossing the Line by Frédérique Molay
3.0
This is the second book of the author's Paris Homicide series featuring Chief Nico Sirsky. After the events of "The 7th Woman", Sirsky is a changed man. He's almost fully recovered from a gunshot wound & has a new appreciation for life. Of course, the fact he now has custody of his teenage son & is dating the beautiful Dr. Carolyn Dalry might have something to do with it.
He's seen a lot during his career with the Paris CID but even he isn't prepared for the strange case that comes their way as the city prepares for Xmas.
A dental student working on a cadaver head at the local university gets more than he bargained for when he drills into an odd filling. Eventually a tiny note is prised from the tooth: "I was murdered".
And so it begins. First, they have to identify the man who left his body to science. He seems to have been an average guy with an average family from an average neighbourhood as Sirsky & his team dig into every aspect of his life. The investigation will take them into the upper echelons of society & connect to another "accidental death" as the body count rises.
It's just one more item on the Chief's very full plate. Professionally, he's dealing with the execution of a SWAT-like take down of jewel thieves, pressures from superiors & budgets. Personally, his ex-wife is missing (continuing her story line from the first book) & her parents plead for him to find her. He's also getting tired of Caroline heading back to her own place & would like a more permanent arrangement.
In promotional blurbs, the author is compared to Michael Connelly but I'd classify this as a kinder, gentler & less gritty version of the genre. It's a "clean" read (no swearing, any sex is alluded to & off page) & the various members of the police force get on well together. The returning characters are becoming more fleshed out as the author weaves in personal details. The city itself is beautifully portrayed in descriptive passages of settings in Paris & their history.
But the heart of the story is Sirsky. He's a smart, intuitive man who others instinctively trust whether they are coworkers or family members. I found him slightly less daring in this outing. Understandably, he's more conscious of the risks associated with the job (a bullet will do that to you...). In the first book his character came across as edgier & driven which I found more interesting. This is not a reflection on the writing, purely a matter of personal preference. Sirsky looks at the world differently these days, influenced by his brush with mortality & a contented personal life.
He's still a pleasure to spend time with as the reader follows the twisting, complex plot to a surprising resolution. Not every aspect is neatly tied up & I look forward to encountering these characters again in the next instalment.
He's seen a lot during his career with the Paris CID but even he isn't prepared for the strange case that comes their way as the city prepares for Xmas.
A dental student working on a cadaver head at the local university gets more than he bargained for when he drills into an odd filling. Eventually a tiny note is prised from the tooth: "I was murdered".
And so it begins. First, they have to identify the man who left his body to science. He seems to have been an average guy with an average family from an average neighbourhood as Sirsky & his team dig into every aspect of his life. The investigation will take them into the upper echelons of society & connect to another "accidental death" as the body count rises.
It's just one more item on the Chief's very full plate. Professionally, he's dealing with the execution of a SWAT-like take down of jewel thieves, pressures from superiors & budgets. Personally, his ex-wife is missing (continuing her story line from the first book) & her parents plead for him to find her. He's also getting tired of Caroline heading back to her own place & would like a more permanent arrangement.
In promotional blurbs, the author is compared to Michael Connelly but I'd classify this as a kinder, gentler & less gritty version of the genre. It's a "clean" read (no swearing, any sex is alluded to & off page) & the various members of the police force get on well together. The returning characters are becoming more fleshed out as the author weaves in personal details. The city itself is beautifully portrayed in descriptive passages of settings in Paris & their history.
But the heart of the story is Sirsky. He's a smart, intuitive man who others instinctively trust whether they are coworkers or family members. I found him slightly less daring in this outing. Understandably, he's more conscious of the risks associated with the job (a bullet will do that to you...). In the first book his character came across as edgier & driven which I found more interesting. This is not a reflection on the writing, purely a matter of personal preference. Sirsky looks at the world differently these days, influenced by his brush with mortality & a contented personal life.
He's still a pleasure to spend time with as the reader follows the twisting, complex plot to a surprising resolution. Not every aspect is neatly tied up & I look forward to encountering these characters again in the next instalment.