Irene: The Commandant Camille Verhoeven Trilogy

The idea is strong but the sequence is criminal. Last year I read Alex and was blown away. Pierre is a gifted artist who allows you every measure of emotion for every character in that novel. However, IRENE is the first book in the series. Irene's strengths are development of the team relationships is very good. The antagonist is clever and an interesting slant on a full genre. The book would be better served by the name the press give to the killer (The Novelist) rather than trying to capitalize on how great ALEX is and titling the book for a secondary character simply because they meet the same naming configuration.Reading Alex let me know what was going to come in Irene so I was cheated by the person's who made the decision to release out of order. I hope this review catches you in time to save you from my unfortunate folly.Again, I always try to limit spoilers so for any who disagree with any of my comments here, please realize I may be deliberate in avoiding taking any surprises from the uninitiated reader by downplaying several elements. I still appreciated the book (One can't read something SO DARK and say they enjoyed can they?) but knowing the end made me feel a victim of Cassandra (Greek Mythology)

Be warned that this is book one in the series! I had downloaded Alex (book 2 despite what Amazon says) a while ago, but am glad I never got around to reading it, as even though this is the second book translated to English, it's the first in the series. I really enjoyed this book and was originally going to give it 4 stars, but loved the twist. It's very graphic and has some really brutal crimes, but nothing is over the top and it was necessary for the story. A really enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading Alex.

The book was well written, but the content was horriffic and I felt there was too much detail in each murder. I wondered why Camille had no time for his eight month pregnant wife. I realise he had these terrible murders to solve, but the way he put his wife second to everything didn't come accross as real life. I didn't like the charactors in the book. I am not inclined to read the next two books.

This is a compelling and gut-wrenching yarn! With Gallic flair and quirkiness the book's author describes a series of increasingly atrocious murders and sets the Toulouse Lautrec-like investigator with the androgynous name - Camille Verhoeven - and his police team on a desperate hunt to find the killer. The plot is tightly focussed, the facts are clear, and each chapter demands that the reader pushes on to the next. One small problem is that the book's title is a hint that Verhoeven's wife will somehow be enmeshed in the plot and so it proves to be. But the reader is given no inkling of whodunnit or how the story will eventually conclude. This is an absolute must-read for those who don't mind whether crime stories have heroes and villains who are both winners and losers.

Clear, rhythmic and swift writing. I believe it is a kind of romantic point of view about evil that is somewhat absolute and always ahead of even smart police men. It is a rather pessimistic way of drawing our present situation, like saying that we cannot do anything useful to save ourselves. I enjoyed the suspense technique of first displaying the action and later to give some kind of rational explanation. Successive action progresses in surprising movements that we understand only later on. Magnificent!

I picked up Irene after it was plugged on a radio show. I enjoy crime novels, but often find that the character development is poor as the focus of the story is predominantly on the crime and investigation. What Lemaitre managed to do was to write a brilliant crime novel while developing characters that were individuals. The story has many twists and turns and was utterly intriguing.If your looking for a 'smart' crime novel, this is the one for you.

Nice storyline and plot arrangements, but there are some inconsistencies , which is kinda confusing. Some characters' names change abruptly (e.g. Psychologist's) and some characters (Elisabeth and Mehdi )turns out to be from Buisson's ongoing fiction , at times I wondered which part is from Buisson's fiction and which part is not.

I liked this well-written police procedural, which reminded me of Fred Vargas's excellent Adamsberg series. Lemaitre slips in a twist you probably won't foresee.

I started reading this morning after breakfast and going to bed I finished the book, gripping to say the least, gruesome as it was I couldn't put it down,Amazing read,

Mi primera incursión en las novelas del afamado escritor francés Pierre Lemaitre y su comisario Verhoeven no me ha decepcionado en absoluto.Como suele ocurrir en este tipo de relatos, más en los europeos que los americanos, hay descripciones escabrosas, que hacen que su lectura no sea recomendable para todo tipo de lectores. Dicho esto, la primera entrega del casi enanito inspector me ha parecido una de las mejores lecturas en cuanto a novela policial de los últimos años. Y no diré nada más. Me la lean.

50 pages into the book and i found myself shifting uncomfortably, the descriptions are so gory that you wonder what the killer is made up of. The plot thickens as we progress and the climax leaves you numb. Go for it, it's not a easy read but worth the time of you are hungry for crime fiction

Mind boggling read!This book drags you in and you can't possibly let go until it's over !Edge of your seat! Crazy twists and turns ..All around crazy good book!Loved itOne of the best books I have ever read!Alex was also amazing ! Which is the first book in this trilogy!It left me wanting more !I can't wait for the 3rd book to finally be translated into English !Please hurry lolPierre Lemaitre is brilliant!

Gute tolle Geschichte, das Englisch ist zwar nicht leicht, aber mit dem Kindle und dem Wörterbuch ist das kein Problem!