Never Forget: A Victor Lessard Thriller (A Victor Lessard Thriller, #1)

by Martin Michaud

Arthur Holden (Translator)

Tormented, rebellious police detective Victor Lessard races to track down a ruthless killer in Montreal.

“Martin Michaud is a master at twisty storytelling and compelling atmosphere.” — Catherine McKenzie

“Never Forget is a crackerjack read.” — Quill & Quire

“A raucous crime thriller.” — Publishers Weekly

When a homeless man jumps to his death in Old Montreal, the police discover two wallets in his possession: one belonging to a retired psychiatrist who was murdered in a bizarre ritual, the other to a powerful corporate lawyer who has vanished. As Montreal police detective Victor Lessard and his partner, Jacinthe Taillon, work to solve the separate mysteries, a dark conspiracy begins to emerge.

While the pressure builds and the bodies accumulate, disturbing secrets come to light about a pivotal moment in political history. But will Lessard and Taillon crack the case in time to stop the killer from striking again?

• ISBN10: 1459742737
• ISBN13: 9781459742734
• Publish Date: 26 March 2020 (first published 18 January 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Dundurn Group Ltd
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 576
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Never Forget is the third Lessard procedural thriller by Martin Michaud. Originally published in French in 2012, this is the first of the series to be translated into English. Released 18th Jan 2020 by Dundurn, it's 576 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a well written but often disturbing procedural thriller. The narrative is choppy and jagged for the first third of the book, switching abruptly between disparate elements both current and retrospective which circle and interweave ever more tightly until they become a single story including shadow politics, shockingly unethical medical research, cover-ups at the very highest level, corruption, dirty money and torture. It's a fairly hefty book (nearly 600 pages) and the author makes good use of the word count to develop the characters and move the story to its inevitable denouement.

The protagonist is flawed: depressed, a recovering alcoholic, physically and emotionally wrecked, suffering from PTSD and trying to have some semblance of a normal relationship with his adult kids (also troubled) and his lover (much younger, but a sane spot of happiness in his very messed up orbit).

The author writes convincingly and very well. This book is quite gritty and includes graphic depictions of torture/murder, rape/involuntary BDSM, graphic consensual sex, rough language, suicide, mental torture, domestic violence. Also, almost everyone smokes. Despite this, it's an engaging and intriguing read.

The translation work is seamless. It doesn't read like a book in translation. I hope Dundurn go back and release the earlier books in English.

Four stars. Worth a read for fans of gritty procedurals.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes