The heroes of this politico-social thriller are anti-heroes. Two cops broken by life driven only by anger. It might seem difficult to get attached to them and yet impossible to leave them the moment they are discovered. Their rage is a magnet, their quest an unsurpassable goal. The first is a man, Captain Gabriel Prigent: he has been looking for the trace of his kidnapped daughter for six years when he was returning from a ride in the metro and the crowd separated them. He feels guilty, refuses the idea that she is dead, swallows drugs all day and night, haunted by images that repel him. He has become obese and angry, on the verge of madness, and yet he remains a good cop, he does not give up. The other is a woman, Commander Laurence Verhaeghen: her hierarchy enjoins her to leave the DCRI to reintegrate the Paris Criminal Brigade where she is asked to spy on her colleagues and to monitor those who are zealous. It is because the political situation is particularly excited. We are in June 2012, the left has just won the presidential election and the right has a hangover. Some show off and dream of revenge, others grit their teeth and prepare files, just in case. Political purges are being prepared and the Paris police headquarters are no exception to the witch hunt. “Hollande appointed Valls to the Interior in spite of himself, but he knows what his ambitions are. Valls saw how Nicolas came up under Chirac, he will try the same thing once more. Hollande will do everything to prevent that, and he has already started to set up short circuits at the PP to get the info first ”, explains a senior police officer to Laurence Verhaeghen from the pen of Benjamin Dierstein.
Hyper-powerful networks
It is in this context that our two cops find themselves one day on a particularly savage crime scene. An entire family has been slaughtered, a former politician killed his wife and son by smashing their skulls before committing suicide. The proximity of the victim to political circles will make all the red alerts flash. Especially since, very quickly, the investigation of our two cops will lead to the discovery of hyper-powerful networks, a clever mix of child-criminal organization, luxury prostitution and tax evasion. The drama of pedophilia is analyzed from all angles, fragile readers to abstain, because certain passages are frightening of crudeness and horror. If you have young children, you risk locking them up in your home while the last images of this wonderful novel fade. Prigent and Verhaeghen are of course not going to come out unscathed, especially Prigent who, during the investigation, will recognize his daughter in the photos and films offered to criminal clients.
Benjamin Dierstein, who had already published a remarkable noir novel in 2021, One last balloon for the road (EquinoX), is presented by its publisher as a “Child of Breton low-cost housing estates and bistro counters, bottle-fed at Ellroy, Peckinpah and Cimino”, nothing less. For him, “Pessimism is a necessary step towards wisdom”. He must be very wise, judging by his darkness. This novel is a block, more than 800 pages, but we do not feel them pass. On the other hand, we does not come out optimistic regarding human nature.
The Court of Mirages by Benjamin Dierstein, EquinoX (Les Arènes), 848 pp, € 22.90.
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