It starts with aspiring writer Raphael Bataille who arrives on the Isle of Beaumont, a wild and beautiful island off the Mediterranean coast, hoping to solve the ‘mystery of Nathan Fawles’. Nathan is the reclusive writer who has isolated himself on the island after suddenly retiring from writing at the peak of his career almost 20 years before.
Then a brutal murder of a young woman takes place and the story widens to include a murder investigation and another mystery involving the incredible journey of a lost camera as well as the unspeakable secret that Nathan is hiding that a young Swiss journalist Mathilde Monney claims to know and wants to expose.
Expertly written with a dash of finesse, it is hypnotic, and readers will be under its spell from the first pages. Every word carries an air of mystery, and there is suspense and tension that keep the readers glued to the pages.
Perfectly plotted, it is more complex than it first appears, and every time we think we’ve figured out what’s going on, Guillaume throws in another curveball.
The characters are well drawn and compelling. Readers will find how Nathan and Mathilde are both enigmatic characters while Raphael is casual and candid. And the owner of the bookstore turns out to be someone we never would have guessed at all.
This book is a psychological masterpiece, clever, compelling, complex and completely immersive. Time almost stands still for the readers trying to uncover the killer. The book is devilishly dark and is the perfect reading experience for crime novel fans.