You were 330 readers to submit to us this year a manuscript on the theme of “the conquest” for the 20 Minutes of the novel prize. And after intense and passionate deliberation, the big winner is: Badges. This is a thriller by Charlotte Letourneur, which will be released on November 10, published by our partner, New Authors.
“I was amazed by this book, exclaims Maxime Chattam, the president of the jury. I devoured it in one day because I didn’t want to do anything else, I wanted to know how it was going to end…” A fine tribute from a thriller expert. A compliment that goes straight to the heart of Charlotte Letourneur, who claims to be a fervent admirer of the writer.
The conquest of oneself and others
The prize was hotly contested this year with several finalists who could have won. And if the jury has chosen to grant a Special Mention this year to the very violent novel (but also successful) A place in the sun of Philippe Valéri, the majority of votes fell on Badges by Charlotte Letourneur, who won us over with the originality and depth of the characters to whom we become more attached, with a well-directed plot, even if the description of the crimes does not lack spice. The theme is respected, “the conquest” being perceived as an initiatory quest, the conquest of oneself and that of others, “with a moral dimension” that Maxime Chattam did not fail to raise and appreciate.
The author, Charlotte Letourneur, is a former nurse from the Côtes d’Armor who started writing after the birth of her second child five years ago. After beginnings in romance and urban fantasy under the pseudonym Charlie Genet, she embarked on a completely different genre: the thriller “I already had the themes of gambling and harassment, but I lacked an articulation. The theme of conquest, announced by Maxime Chattam in the video for the prize, was a click,” she explains. And then I worked on the plot and the characters with real police officers. “Credibility is what makes all the difference when you write a thriller or a detective novel,” emphasizes Maxime Chattam. And that’s what we have. It goes beyond a good thriller, it’s an excellent book because the author masters all the codes. That is to say that the chapters are effective, there is suspense, you want to know what will happen to the different characters, and there is something extremely modern in the subtext of the novel that ‘it would be a shame to deflower…’ But that will be available to discover in bookstores from 10 November. Moreover, the book is available for pre-order from this Wednesday on the platforms of Fnac, Amazon, Cultura, etc.