At times a very interesting read although i found it a tad confusing with the timelines etc and not knowing Paris well could not visualise the geographical descriptions etc,overall a good read


Copy review from when read earlier in year,apologies for re requesting

The Messenger by Megan Davis is a twisty and dark tale set in Paris and as well as a murder mystery exposes the seamier side of the City of Light and it's extreme social divisions, which give the city an almost schizophrenic character.

The book begins with young Alex Giroud speaking to his probation officer after being released from 7 years in prison for the murder of his father,Patrick and claiming that despite pleading guilty at the trial him and his accomplice,Sami Lantou, are innocent. Alex originally claimed that Lantou did the actual killing getting his friend a stiff 25 year sentence while being classed as a minor, only receiving 7 himself.

Alex's story is told in 2 timelines,the first tells of his troubled school days,his descent into criminality with Sami and events leading to the death of his Father while the second involves the newly-released Alex trying to prove his,and more importantly Sami's ,innocence convinced that Patrick was investigating at a story that cost him his life,and that of a fellow journalist friend who followed the trail later.
As Alex tries to unravel the mystery of his Father's death it becomes very obvious that dark forces are watching and trying to warn him off.

This is an excellent read and will be an eye-opener for many who think they know Paris.From the affluent environs of "Zone 1" the Paris of the movies with nice cafes and luxury apartments Alex descends through a series of bad decisions to the parts the French tourist board don't talk about,the outer zones where the homeless and hopeless wash up, the shanties where people live in appalling conditions and the illegal migrants ,unwanted and uninvited,barely scrape a living.

This is an involving book that addresses a number of social and societal issues from exclusion to fake news via corruption ,racism and much else,it never preaches but will make readers think about our imperfect and unfair world,never a bad thing. Of course that would be pointless were it not entertaining and engrossing......which it most definitely is.