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LOOSE-LIMBED
by David Barrie
John Law Media, March 2011
320 pages
7.99 GBP
ISBN: 0956251846


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

When Sophie Duval, one of the leading dancers with the Paris Opera Ballet, is found murdered, strangled by a thin cord wound three times around her neck, Captain Franck Guerin of the Brigade Criminelle is called in to investigate. To begin with, he knows nothing of the tightly knit, almost claustrophobic world of professional dancing, but he has to learn fast as Sophie is only the first victim, and others soon follow, killed in the same way.

This is the third novel in the series featuring Franck Guerin, but that I have not read the first two in no way diminished my enjoyment of this elegant, stylish book, as Barrie provides sufficient introduction to his engaging main character without making me feel I'd missed out on anything. The book shifts effortlessly from the sophisticated world of ballet to the equally sophisticated but far more disturbing topic of performance enhancing drugs, as Sophie Duval is found in possession of a pharmaceutical collection that in competitive sports would be considered illegal. As a result Guerin's investigation widens to include the charming but very obviously shady doctor, Léon Abkarian who enlightens him on the shadier side of Sophie Duval's profession.

Barrie writes convincingly about his subject, with enough detail to enlighten and intrigue, but not so much as to weigh the narrative down. Life in the cloistered world of the Opera Ballet is well depicted, from the sumptuous costumes to the exacting training that results in principal dancers being considered over the hill before they have barely left their twenties. Paris provides an elegant setting and although the plot itself isn't overly complicated, nor is the identity of the murderer particularly hard to uncover, there are sufficient twists and turns en route to the denouement to make LOOSE-LIMBED both a satisfying and enjoyable read. I was also intrigued by eco-terrorist Gabriel Agostini, Guerin's opponent from an earlier book, and would certainly like to make his acquaintance again. I have every intention of seeking out the earlier books in this series as well as the next one when it appears.

§ Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.

Reviewed by Linda Wilson, October 2011

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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