Georges Simenon is the forefather of French crime fiction. We introduce you to five current and classic crime novels set in Paris.
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France has a great tradition of crime fiction. Georges Simenon, who began his writing career at a newspaper at the age of 16, is considered the forefather of French crime novels. And yet the crime novels from France are very different from many other countries. Psychopaths and bloodthirsty killers are very rare in French crime novels. Rather, the stories are characterized by sophistication, a lot of savoir-vivre and a pinch of humor. We introduce you to five crime novels set in Paris.
Georges Simenon is the forefather of French crime novels. We introduce you to five current and classic crime novels set in Paris. © Christian Offenberg/Imago/Piper (Montage)
Fred Vargas "The Third Virgin"
Adamsberg has acquired an old, small house in the middle of Paris. But the house is haunted, says the neighbor. The shadow of an 18th-century man-murdering nun shuffles across the attic at night. The Commissioner has heard that before, but what does it matter to him when he is dealing with much more present, terrible shadows?
Blurb / Aufbau Verlag
The historian Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau has made a name for herself under her stage name Fred Vargas not only in France. She developed the character around Commissioner Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, of whom eleven volumes have been published. In Germany, Fred Vargas celebrated great success with her crime novels. "The Third Virgin" is also an atmospherically dense crime thriller that should not only please France fans.
Fred Vargas "The Third Virgin"
Translated from the French by Julia Schoch
2007 Aufbau Verlag, ISBN-13 978-3-7466-2455-6
Price: paperback €14, e-book €8.99, 474 pages (different from format)
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Cara Black "The Dark Lights of Paris"
But her new client's assignment is more complicated than private detective Aimée Leduc initially thinks. When she finally cracks the code, an old photo opens on the screen showing a Parisian street café at the time of the occupation. Half of the image is missing. The detective finds the other half in Lili Stein's apartment. But this is already dead. Murdered. A swastika on the forehead.
Blurb / Thiele & Brandstätter
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It is the prelude to the Aimée Leduc series. The books about the private detective Aimée Leduc really bring Paris to life and create high tension in the metropolis on the Seine.
Cara Black "The Dark Lights of Paris"
2013 Thiele & Brandstätter, ISBN-13
Price: hardcover €19.95, 384 pages
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Dominique Manotti "The Black Corps"
Ten weeks elapsed between the Allied landings and the liberation of Paris. Manotti's furious historical thriller brings them to life: monsters and heroes, losers, escapees and those who inevitably always belong to the winners.
Blurb / Argument Verlag
The author knows how to deal equally with the Resistance and also with the collaborators who did business during the occupation. The sober narrative style is an advantage here, does not allow any compromises and shows the reader what it could have been like at the time.
Dominique Manotti "The Black Corps"
2016, Argument Verlag, ISBN-13 978-3-86754-221-0
Price: Paperback 13 €
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Highly political: "The Last Days of the Beasts of Predators" by Jérôme Leroy
As if there weren't more important things to do. France is exhausted after two years of pandemic, yellow vests are blocking the streets, anti-vaxxers are mobilizing, the police are enforcing a brutal lockdown. A drought has broken out and water is becoming scarce. In the midst of this explosive setting, twenty-year-old Clio, a left-wing activist and student at an elite university, becomes the target of a conspiracy, as her father is a promising presidential candidate for the Greens.
Blurb / Edition Nautilus
A thriller could hardly be more topical. The Grande Nation is groaning under a heat wave and Corona has left its mark. The president does not want to run again, but instead wants to enjoy her private life with her husband. But who should take the helm? The review of "The Last Days of the Predators" can be found here.
Jérôme Leroy "The Last Days of the Predators"
Translated from the French by Cornelia Wend
2023 Edition Nautilus, ISBN-13 978-3-96054-313-8
Price: Hardcover €24, e-book €18.99, 400 pages (different from format)
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Cosy Crime from Paris: Ulrich Wickert "The Shadows of Paris"
It almost looks like an execution. With five well-aimed shots, a man was murdered in a parking lot near Lake Geneva. The explosive thing: He belonged to the elite unit of the French secret service! Unintentionally, the Parisian investigating magistrate Jacques Ricou becomes involved in the case and gets caught up in the intrigues of influential politicians.
Blurb / Piper
The former Mr. Tagesthemen Ulrich Wickert has been quite successful with the Jacques Ricou series for several years. It shows the interest in entertaining thrillers that don't necessarily have to be bloody like many representatives of the Nordic Noir track. The book is recommended to all lovers of classic crime novels. The detailed review of "The Shadows of Paris" can be found here. Fans of Cosy Crime also reach for the books of Richard Osman.
Ulrich Wickert "The Shadows of Paris"
A Case for Jacques Ricou (Volume 7)
2022 Piper, ISBN-13 978-3-492-05961-9
Price: Hardcover €22, e-book €3.99, 320 pages (different from format)
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For lovers of urban thrillers, the thrillers set in Stockholm may be just as interesting. And the German capital is also a true crime city. In this interview, crime writer Johannes Groschupf explains why Berlin is the perfect city for crime novels.
