I had never heard of Michel Bussi when I checked this book out of the library, but he is apparently a well-regarded French crime novelist, and I am extremely pleased to have come across him. I will be reading more of him.

4 year old Malone attends nursery school in a small Normandy village. He seems happy and well-adjusted, except he keeps saying that his mother is not his real mother. This becomes enough of an issue that the school psychologist is called in. Malone meets with the psychologist and draws vivid pictures of his prior life: a castle with four turrets, a pirate ship, rockets, and a forest full of ogres. Malone also has a stuffed animal that he says talks to him at night and tells him stories. All fanciful, of course, but somehow the psychologist believes that Malone is telling some version of the truth. He informally reports the matter to the police, and before we know it we are off on a fast-paced thriller.

This was one of the most original crime novels I've read in eons. Malone was a delight, and I loved how the author was able to tie the castle, the pirate ship, the rockets, the ogre and all the fairy tales into a real life solution.

3 1/2 stars. ( )

Malone a trois ans, il aime sa peluche qui lui raconte des histoires et affirme régulièrement que sa maman n’est pas sa vraie maman. Un roman policier basé en grande partie sur la pédopsychiatrie et les théories du souvenir chez l’enfant, une suite de rebondissements parfois un peu invraisemblables, mais une histoire attachante. ( )

Bussi est maître du fil à retordre, et ce roman ne fait pas exception. Pourtant, il est difficile de faire mieux que Les Nymphéas noirs, et là, j'ai trouvé qu'il tirait à la ligne, prolongeait les intrigues sans beaucoup donner en contre-partie et forçait sur les personnages, tant d'ailleurs, que j'ai su résoudre le mystère sans trop de mal.
Un livre facile à lire, avec des personnages intéressants, mais ce n'est pas son meilleur. ( )