Blood Red Rivers - Softcover
Synopsis
Book by Jean-Christophe Grange
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
The roman policier, or detective novel, has long been popular in France, but few works by French authors have received much attention in other countries. Jean-Christophe Grange's Blood-Red Rivers enjoyed considerable success in France (film rights have already been sold), and has arrived to test American waters.
When a mutilated corpse is discovered wedged in an isolated crevice on a rock face outside Guernon, a university town in the French Alps, Pierre Niémans--a brilliant Parisian detective given to uncontrollable fits of violence--arrives to investigate. Eager to escape the cloud of an official inquiry into his behavior (beating a hooligan so violently that the man is in a coma), Niémans swaggers into the tiny town, torn between outrage at being exiled and determination to prove himself to the superiors he detests. The body hints at a long history of animosity between the university and the townspeople; when another body is found frozen in a glacier, Niémans' investigation becomes linked to that of another maverick policeman, Karim Abdouf, who has a chip on his shoulder even bigger than Niémans's. Abdouf is attempting to discover why a child's tomb has been desecrated, and why all official traces of that child's existence have disappeared. When he discovers that the child's mysterious, beautiful mother comes from Guernon, Abdouf realizes that the antagonism between town and gown is not a matter of philosophy, but of life and death.
Blood-Red Rivers possesses the seeds of an interesting concept, but its promise is overwhelmed by a plot that lurches from one absurdity to another, clumsy characterization, a tedious reliance on clichéd dialogue, and a too-literal translation. It was touted by a review in Le Figaro as "the best thriller since Silence of the Lambs," but there's no comparison between Grange's novel and Thomas Harris's skilled plotting, concise language, and disturbingly sympathetic portrait of a madman. Given the number of truly talented French mystery and thriller authors, one hopes that more promising works will soon be sent across the Atlantic. --Kelly Flynn
About the Author
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE GRANGE was born in 1961. He was a journalist before he set up his own press agency. His second novel, Blood Red Rivers, has been made into a successful film - with the title The Crimson Rivers - directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. The Empire of the Wolves is Grange's fourth novel. All of his novels are sold to film, and he is a film scholar himself.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherVintage
- Publication date2003
- ISBN 10 0099449021
- ISBN 13 9780099449027
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages336
- Rating
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for Blood Red Rivers
Stock Image
Blood Red Rivers
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR001598129
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Blood Red Rivers
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 51800145-6
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Blood Red Rivers
Published by
Vintage Publishing, United Kingdom, London, 2003
ISBN 10: 0099449021
ISBN 13: 9780099449027
Used
Paperback
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. In a world of knife-edge glaciers a hideous crime leads two maverick detectives to confront the limits of human evil. A corpse is discovered wedged in an isolated crevice. It has been horribly mutilated. The brilliant but violent ex-commando Pierre Niemans is sent from Paris to the French Alps to lead the investigation. Meanwhile, in a town in south-west France, Karim Abdouf, a young Arab policeman, is trying to find out why the tomb of a young child has been desecrated. When a second baby is found, high up in a glacier, the paths of the two policemen are joined in the search for their killers, a trail that embroils them in the mysterious cult of the blood red rivers. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR001225834
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Blood Red Rivers
Seller: medimops, Berlin, Germany
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: very good. Gut/Very good: Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit wenigen Gebrauchsspuren an Einband, Schutzumschlag oder Seiten. / Describes a book or dust jacket that does show some signs of wear on either the binding, dust jacket or pages. Seller Inventory # M00099449021-V
Quantity: 1 available