Books by Michel Bussi
The Double Mother
by Michel Bussi
From the author of the “wonderfully ingenious” (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review) novel After The Crash comes a brilliant work of deception that dives deep into the psyche of a child and cruel game of manipulating a person’s memory.
Four-year-old Malone Moulin is haunted by nightmares of being handed over to a complete stranger and begins claiming his mother is not his real mother. His teachers at school say that it is all in his imagination as his mother has a birth certificate, photos of him as a child and even the pediatrician confirms Malone is her son. The school psychologist, Vasily, believes otherwise as the child vividly describes an exchange between two women. Vasily begins recording their conversations and reinterprets the creatures Malone uses in the childish tales he recounts to his stuffed toy to piece the story together as much as he can.
Convinced that Malone is telling the truth, Vasile approaches police commander Marianne Augresse with the case, who has been searching for a gang of thieves that robbed a luxury store and left a couple dead in the neighboring town of Deauville to no avail. Not knowing why a child would lie and with perhaps her own own maternal and protective instinct kicking in, Marianne takes Vasile’s plead for help seriously.
Marianne and her team soon discern that Malone’s memory is in the hands of those around him; the cold members of the Moulin family and the people that they associate themselves with. With Malone’s recollection of the past quickly fading to give way to pirates, animals and other more innocent thoughts children have at his age, Marianne is desperate to find a through line.
Well-crafted and showcasing the fragility of a child’s cognition, The Double Mother is a riveting investigation to follow.
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Time Is a Killer
by Michel Bussi
From the acclaimed author of After the Crash― “Harlan Coben fans will enjoy Bussi’s . . . mystery with its intriguing characters and twisty conclusion” (Library Journal).
A fatal accident in the past, broken lives, family secrets . . . Michel Bussi serves up a gripping thriller, set amid the beautiful scenery of Corsica.
In the summer of 2016, Clotilde is spending her vacation in Corsica with her husband, Franck, and her teenage daughter, Valentine. It is the first time she has been back to the island since the car accident in which her parents and her brother were killed decades earlier. She was in the car too, but miraculously escaped with her life. This return plunges Clotilde back into the deepest recesses of her adolescence. She reacquaints herself with her paternal grandparents, Lisabetta and Cassanu, members of a powerful Corsican family that reigns over the island.
When a mysterious letter, signed “Palma”―Clotilde’s mother―arrives, the truth about her family, her parents’ death, and her childhood is called into question. Time Is a Killer is a voyage into the complexities of Corsican society, a compelling portrait of a woman’s awakening, and a masterfully executed novel of psychological suspense.
“Michel Bussi’s writing always rings true. His crime novel is a bomb.”―Le Parisien
“Michel Bussi’s psychological crime novels are beyond masterful.”―Le Figaro Littéraire
“Bathed in the perfumes and flavors of Corsica . . .Time Is a Killer will be read with bated breath until the final twist!”―Le Magazine des Livres
“Don’t open these books if you have anything more pressing to do.”―Elle (France)
“Gripping noir.”―Publishers Weekly
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Don't Let Go
With unmatched suspense and emotional insight, Harlan Coben explores the big secrets and little lies that can destroy a relationship, a family, and even a town in this powerful thriller.
Suburban New Jersey Detective Napoleon “Nap” Dumas hasn't been the same since senior year of high school, when his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend Diana were found dead on the railroad tracks—and Maura, the girl Nap considered the love of his life, broke up with him and disappeared without explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching, both for Maura and for the real reason behind his brother's death. And now, it looks as though he may finally find what he's been looking for.
When Maura's fingerprints turn up in the rental car of a suspected murderer, Nap embarks on a quest for answers that only leads to more questions—about the woman he loved, about the childhood friends he thought he knew, about the abandoned military base near where he grew up, and mostly about Leo and Diana—whose deaths are darker and far more sinister than Nap ever dared imagine.
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Don't Let Go
From the bestselling author of After the Crash, “a novel so extraordinary it reminded me of reading Stieg Larsson for the first time” (The Sunday Times).
Holidaying in an idyllic resort on the island of Réunion, wealthy Parisians Martial and Liane Bellion are enjoying the perfect family moment with their six-year-old daughter. Turquoise skies, clear water, palm trees, a warm breeze.
Then Liane Bellion disappears from her hotel room. The door to her room is open, the walls and sheets are spotted with blood. A hotel employee swears he saw Martial in the corridor at the time Liane went missing, and he becomes the number one suspect. But then Martial also disappears, along with his daughter. An all-out manhunt is declared across the island.
Could Martial really have killed his wife? For fans of Gone Girl and The Fugitive, Bussi’s fast-paced, atmospheric thriller does not disappoint.
“A nail biter of a manhunt across the spectacular terrain of the Indian Ocean island of Réunion drives this thriller after a tourist goes missing, triggering a police chase and exposing a cannily-constructed mystery with nods to both Agatha Christie and Harlan Coben.”―The Boston Globe
“Suspenseful . . . vengeance proves a common passion on Réunion, as detailed in this twist-filled novel told from several characters’ perspectives.”―The Wall Street Journal
“This novel, a multi-charactered French whodunit, squeezes all its frantic action into the 25 square miles of gorgeous but treacherous Réunion Island.”―Toronto Star
“A top-notch puzzle . . . A wonderfully immersive thriller.”―Booklist
Copies
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After the Crash: A Novel
by Michel Bussi
"Wonderfully ingenious and altogether satisfying."---Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
Just after midnight on December 23, 1980, a night flight bound for Paris plummets toward the Swiss Alps, crashing into a snowy mountainside. Within seconds flames engulf the plane, which is filled with holiday travelers. Of the 169 passengers, all but one perish.
The sole survivor is a three-month-old girl--thrown from the airliner before fire consumes the cabin. But two infants were on board. Is "the Miracle Child of Mont Terri" Lyse-Rose or Emilie? The families of both girls step forward to claim the child. Dogged by bad luck, the Vitrals live a simple life, selling snacks from a van on the beaches of northern France. In contrast, the de Carvilles, who amassed a fortune in the oil business, are powerful-and dangerous.
Eighteen years later, a private detective tasked with solving the mystery of the girl known as "Lylie" is on the verge of giving up. As he contemplates taking his own life, Crédule Grand-Duc suddenly discovers a secret hidden in plain view. Will he live to tell it?
Meanwhile, Lylie, now a beautiful university student, entrusts a secret notebook into the hands of Marc, the brooding young man who loves her, and then vanishes. After Marc reads the notebook's contents, he embarks on a frantic search for Lylie.
But he is not the only one looking for her.
Copies
No copies available.
After the Crash: A Novel
by Michel Bussi
"Terrifically compelling ... Sit back and go along for the ride." --- Boston Globe
Just after midnight on December 23, 1980, a night flight bound for Paris plummets toward the Swiss Alps, crashing into a snowy mountainside. Within seconds flames engulf the plane, which is filled with holiday travelers. Of the 169 passengers, all but one perish.
The sole survivor is a three-month-old girl--thrown from the airliner before fire consumes the cabin. But two infants were on board. Is "the Miracle Child of Mont Terri" Lyse-Rose or Emilie? The families of both girls step forward to claim the child. Dogged by bad luck, the Vitrals live a simple life, selling snacks from a van on the beaches of northern France. In contrast, the de Carvilles, who amassed a fortune in the oil business, are powerful--and dangerous.
Eighteen years later, a private detective tasked with solving the mystery of the girl known as "Lylie" is on the verge of giving up. As he contemplates taking his own life, Crédule Grand-Duc suddenly discovers a secret hidden in plain view. Will he live to tell it?
Meanwhile, Lylie, now a beautiful university student, entrusts a secret notebook into the hands of Marc, the brooding young man who loves her, and then vanishes. After Marc reads the notebook's contents, he embarks on a frantic search for Lylie. But he is not the only one looking for her.
Copies
No copies available.