Alex

Until I lived alone I loved thrillers and horror films. Now if I watch them I end up convincing myself there's some unscrupulous character in my house and I have to sleep on my sofa (my sofa is not massive, it's actually really quite small so this is uncomfortable). But I can still manage to read thrillers without these irrational fears taking over, also I generally read in bed so it's ok if I get a little scared as obviously a quilt cover is the only deterrent a girl needs against a murderer, that and sleep. So why i'm I whittling on? well, the most recent book i've read is called Alex by Pierre Lemaitre. And it is an entirely thrilling thriller. I couldn't put it down. It reminded me a lot of the girl with the dragon tattoo, the eponymous character Alex is a little Lisbeth Salander-esque but that is all i'm saying. The novel has plenty of twists and i'm sure even the briefest of synopsis' would contain spoilers. Vaguely then it's set in Paris (originally written in French happily there are not the issues when reading books originally written in Russian as the character names are much easier to pronounce and differentiate from one another) and opens on quite the violent kidnapping of Alex. Camille a very short detective with a few issues is trying to find her. From that point on this book turns into many different books, your sympathies change constantly nothing is straightforward and you're never sure who to root for. Until the end. But because you'll not be able to put the book down it won't take too long to get to the conclusion. It's a terrific read, if you liked the girl with the dragon tattoo I more or less guarantee you'll like this too. Also bargain fans you can pick it up for £2.99 in sainsburys although if you're in my vicinity i'll lend it to you anyway. For a summer thriller to keep you occupied on the beach or (more likely) a rainy afternoon you could do an awful lot worse than this.