The Accident on the A35

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The second part of the structure of the novel is that it is not narrated by the author Graeme Macrae Burnet. This is where the mystery and confusion of the novel starts. The book's Foreword reveals that this story comes from the two manuscripts of a writer called Raymond Brunet, sent following the author's instruction by his solicitor, to the publishers Editions Gaspard-Moreau in 2014 after the death of Marie Brunet, Raymond Brunet's mother. This manuscripts were meant for the attention of the editor George Pires, but he had previously died. Brunet had died in 1992 after committing suicide underneath a train, and the manuscripts were only sent by the solicitor after the death of Marie Brunet. Accident on the A35 is the 2nd in a series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. I haven’t read The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau yet and look forward to doing so. There’s something a bit Wes Anderson about Graeme Macrae Burnet. There’s a dry humour to his characters. It’s hard not to love. He skilfully portrays absurdity and contradictions of characters that have a very strong sense of self. The Accident on the A35 is a darkly humorous, subtle, and sophisticated novel that burrows into the psyches of its characters and explores the dark corners of life in a sleepy town.” All the other characters we meet along the way are just as well-drawn, building up a complete picture of the two neighbouring societies at the heart of the story. Despite the relative brevity of the book, the secondary characters are allowed to develop over time, making them feel rounded and true. Short sketches of people who appear only for moments in a café or on the street all add to the understanding of the culture, which in turn adds to our understanding of how it has formed and shaped our main characters, Raymond and Gorski. Not a word is wasted – with the briefest of descriptions, Burnet can create a person who feels real, solid, entire, as if they might be a neighbour we've known all our life.

UK Traffic Delays is a reliable source of updated travel information, obtained under licence from official data providers. London travel information is used under license from TfL: Powered by TfL Open Data. Macrae Burnet gives the reader a crime novel that is much more about the characters than about the crime being solved. The players are intimately drawn, their actions closely described, the mood of the town almost palpable and the setting thoroughly evoked, while the reader is left to reach their own conclusions on several key aspects of the story. The third person narrative of the books drifts between different perspectives. This is very pleasing. It allows you an insight into the characters thoughts without too much exposition. The way the narration is handled in scenes where both of the main characters feature is masterful. The introduction of these characters is seamless. The number of deaths saw an 11 percent drop from the year before, and the number of casualties decreased 9 percent.Graeme Macrae Burnet has written a book purported to be a translation of a manuscript (one of two) sent to a publisher by fictional writer, Raymond Burnet after he committed suicide. The novel is a literary mystery in the classic French style of Georges Simenon, creator of fictional French detective Jules Maigret. Although, I haven't read any of Simenon's books I have seen the TV series Maigret based on the books and can see that the this novel captures the shadowy detective and the dark, smoky scenes in cafes and nightclubs of Maigret's world. Motorists are being advised to expect delays. Diversions have been set up taking drivers through Bridport with motorists told to allow extra time for their journey. Let’s get a look,” she said, holding her hand out. I passed her the book. “Mmmm,” she murmured sarcastically, eyeing the cover. “Sounds… interesting.” Police were called at around 1:40pm today following reports of a road traffic collision on the A35, Kilmington, Axminster between a car and a lorry," a spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said. It’s a long time since I read a police procedural (more or less) that was so gripping and intelligent.’

This novel – like Adele Bedeau – reintroduces the reader to Georges Gorski, the police chief of an Alsace town who has married above his station…and is now estranged from his wife. When a wealthy solicitor named Bertrand Barhelme suffers a fatal car crash, Georges Gorski must deliver the news to his youngish widow, Lucette, and their teenage son Raymond. This novel is situated in Saint-Louis in France. It is is structured in two parts. The first part is the plot about how the death of Bertrand Barthelme during a car crash affects the lives of the two main protagonists. The first protagonist is Georges Gorski, a senior officer in the St Louis police force who is investigating the crash. The second is Raymond Barthelme, the son of Bertrand Barthelme.Traffic monitoring service Inrix first reported the crash on the A35, near the The Grazing Cow Cafe, between Honiton and Axminster, at 11.39am. Both towns are important characters in the book but it's the human characters who make it such an absorbing story. Gorski is a middle-aged man in something of a rut, but without the ambition or desire to find his way out. He is content to be the Chief of Police in Saint-Louis – a medium-size fish in a tiny pool – even if he's not particularly liked by his subordinates nor respected by those at the top of the social heap. He's less happy with the fact that his wife has just left him – he's not altogether sure why and he's not convinced that he wants to change whatever it is about himself that's led her to go. He's a decent man, but rather passively so – neither hero nor villain. It's the skill of the writing that makes this ordinary man into an extraordinary character. With its deft writing and well-rounded characters, this novel is an accomplished and atmospheric police procedural that frequently strays into classic noir badlands.

The methodical but troubled Chief Inspector Georges Gorski visits the wife of a lawyer killed in a road accident, the accident on the A35. The case is unremarkable, the visit routine. The narration has the simple momentum of classic crime writing, heavy on lit cigarettes, light on subordinate clauses. Irresponsibly drawn to Lucette – he knows he’s a fool – Gorski digs for dirt on Bertrand, who at the time of his death was not (as his wife believed) returning from a traditional midweek supper with colleagues. That was Bertrand’s cover story – but for what? Why did he secretly withdraw a large wad of cash every Tuesday morning? And isn’t it odd that the damage to his Mercedes doesn’t seem consistent with hitting a tree?Briskly written within an unobtrusive literary frame, this seductive novel works on multiple levels.’ I did love the first Gorski and this one took some more than strange detours leaving me as an uninterested observer in the end. Sad to anticipate reading a book with such glee and then have the balloon popped.