Audrey Escoin, blogger And contributor of the 20 Minutes Books reading group, recommends “The Hallali” by Nicolas Lebel, whom she interviewed during the Festival Quai du thriller. His book was published on March 8, 2023 by Éditions Le Masque.
His favorite quote:
If revenge is a dish best eaten cold, I know some who will eat frozen.
Why this book?
- Because after Capturing And Gamethis 3rd volume loses nothing in quality, far from it. And even if you haven’t read the previous novels, you will quickly be trapped in this new investigation by Yvonne Chen. Nicolas Lebel proves that with each title he can surprise us, with atypical thrillers, where he brings small touches of humor while leading the story with a lot of suspense and surprises.
- Because it’s just a blast to find Yvonne Chen. And our heroine is far from better. She still has her biting humor and her taciturn character, but I find that she splits the armor a bit in this volume. She is more indecisive, in doubt at times. A little more fragile perhaps. The other characters in the novel are just as complex and difficult to pin down. It’s really a strength of the novel: to be wary of everyone, to trust no one. Yesterday’s enemies may well become our friends tomorrow.
- Because the places are as important as the characters or the story. After being stuck on a Breton island in the capture, here we are in the heart of the Vosges, in a mansion worthy of a Hitchcock film. The masters of the place are freezing, just as much as the weather outside. The atmosphere is suffocating, and this camera imposes a certain tension that is difficult to bring down. Will this novel ring Yvonne Chen’s hallali? It’s up to you to find out.
Nicolas Lebel, you made Yvonne Chen an original character; a woman far from glamorous clichés, she is taciturn, tortured… As a man, is it easy to develop a female character and is there a part of you in Yvonne?
Yvonne Chen is above all a free woman, freed from propriety, hierarchy, social burden. She assumes her desires and chooses her duties according to a very personal ethics, refusing any allegiance to one/another. He is a volatile character that the men who surround him and who try to attract him to them, struggle to identify and contain. I confess that I envy him. I would like to have his freedom of tone and action. So I try to let the Yvonne Chen in me speak! To see the success it meets with readers, I think I’m not the only one.
In this novel you place the plot in the heart of the Vosges, in Alsace, in an isolated place, cold and far from everything. When does the choice of location for your novels come about?
From the beginning, the choice of the arena, the place of the plot, is essential: a Breton island battered by the winds, a frozen summit of the Vosges, a forest or a Parisian district. Each of these places is governed by its own forces, whether inhabited or deserted, accessible or not, organized or wild. And these forces will weigh on the characters and on the plot, and modify it. The choice of location is never trivial. In The Hallali, by choosing a medieval castle perched on a snow-capped summit in the heart of the Vosges Mountains, I impose on the characters an icy, nocturnal huis-clos which they describe as a tomb at altitude. They are right: some will never come down.
Have you considered one day Mehrlicht, another of your heroes, crossing paths with Chen or the Furies?
These characters exist in very different universes. I let Mehrlicht rest after five adventures first to change the main character, but also to write other things. Mehrlicht’s investigations always have a historical axis: Northern Ireland, Ceausescu’s Romania, the Courts of Miracles… With Chen and the Furies, the reader falls into thriller, pretense, machination. I don’t believe that Chen and Mehrlicht could one day meet: they would hate each other, that’s for sure, and would scuttle my book. No thanks.
Finally, since we can well imagine a 4th opus in this series, can you already imagine where the Furies will take us next?
For the moment, The Hallali closes a first trilogy of the Furies, a cycle, as they say. We should find them one day… Where? No idea. These Furies do as they please! But today, after the investigative novel with five Mehrlichts and then the thriller with three Chens, I am working on writing a thriller, a dark story that takes place in a prison. It’s an equally exciting genre. This will be my tenth novel. Then, I must admit, especially because I receive threats from his fans and I fear for my life, Mehrlicht should return to service…
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot. The Furies, these lawless hired killers, are back and their leader Alecto offers Chen to participate in one of their dances. Two brothers are vying for control of a prestigious vineyard in the Vosges and, according to the anonymous sponsor, there should only be one left.
Characters. Yvonne Chen. Alecto and the Furies. Members of the DGSI. The owners of a manor in the Vosges. Domain employees.
Places. The Vosges. A wine estate.
The time. Nowadays, in the heart of winter in January.
The author. Born in Paris, an insatiable traveler, Nicolas Lebel has published numerous novels, including five in the Captain Mehrlicht series. In 2021, he received the Prix Griffe Noire for the best French detective novel of the year for Le gibier.
This book has been read by being on the lookout for bad moves, attacks, and Nicolas Lebel knew how to finish me off by trapping me completely. A nice success that this 3rd volume. We want more, quickly a new hunt with a 4th novel in the series? I hope in any case, the furies are still on the run!
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