Our book of the month is The Accident on the A35 by Graeme Macrae Burnet. Does Raymond Brunet exist? Was there ever a lost manuscript? We give you our thoughts in our Big Review below.
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The Accident – the blurb
There does not appear to be anything remarkable about the fatal car crash on the A35. But one question dogs Inspector Georges Gorski: where has the victim, an outwardly austere lawyer, been on the night of his death? The troubled Gorski finds himself drawn into a mystery that takes him behind the respectable veneer of the sleepy French backwater of Saint-Louis.
Who wrote it?
Described as tricksy fiction, the novel is based on the concept that a manuscript written by a now deceased author, Raymond Brunet (note the anagram of Burnet), has just been discovered. In steps Graeme Macrae Burnet (GMB) who has been tasked with translating it and publishing it. A forward and afterwards are included by GMB to this effect. The manuscript is about french policeman Georges Gorski who made a similar ‘tricksy fiction’ appearance in the book The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau . I haven’t read Adele however have read His Bloody Project, a standalone novel by GMB that also including an element of false true crime. I’m not sure in all honesty what the deceased author added to The Accident. Sure it’s a talking point (always good for a book club) but in a way it distracts from the otherwise very good story.
The ‘accident’
Lawyer Bertrand Barthelme crashes his car on the way home one night. His relatives appear unmoved and the accident seems relatively straight forward. However increasingly alcohol soaked Gorski, recently separated and attracted to Barthelme’s wife Lucette, agrees to look in to the matter further, if only to see Lucette again.
The book has been praised for its portrayal of a rural french town in the way King writes Maine. Yet it wasn’t the town that got under my skin but the descriptions, the detail and the observations that GMB picks up on. Reading about Gorski’s crippling self doubt as he enters the police station is a sublime piece of writing. GMB highlights this against the fancy pants detective from Strasbourg. Straight out of a french television programme he could have railroaded the accident into a totally different direction. Gorski’s effectiveness as a detective shines here. He may be drowning (in alcohol) yet he clocks the neighbor and he notes the clay on his wife’s shoes.
Troubled teen
Without doubt the most troubled character is Barthelme’s son, Raymond. Note the shared first name to the deceased author! An element of ‘is it an autobiography?’ is inserted into the plot which I don’t think was needed but like a good onion, it added layers to a slim novel. Raymond’s spiral is consuming and one can’t help but thinking a sticky end awaits him unless someone hears his cries for help. Gorski perhaps?
Not all ends are tied up in a neat bow – I don’t think the marks on the car were ever explained? And it certainly can’t be described as fast paced (a little bit like the town it is set in). Yet I liked The Accident all the more for it. Gorski is a character that certainly deserves another turn and I find myself hoping another ‘lost’ manuscript turns up. If you are looking for twisty crime writing this isn’t it. If you are looking for a bloody good book look no further.
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with our book of the month try answering our book club questions published every month. Just search in our footnotes section for the ‘Get Involved’ articles. We review a new book every month so keep your eyes peeled for the Lowdown on August’s book of the month soon.
