JAQUOT AND THE ANGEL

Martin O’Brien, Headline, 544 pages, Rs395

Provence, almost a haven on earth shows a grey side by housing sudden murders of Dr Martner – a local German resident and his family. A place where no secrets can hide, turns in to a mystery maze for Inspector Daniel Jacquot of the Cavaillon Crime Squad.

Jacquot, Martin O’Brien’s hero in Jacquot and the Angel is a sharp Investigator. With a flamboyant ponytail, an elegant style and his good reputation of work, he has won hearts of almost all locals. He prefers to work mostly on his own and quietly.

 However, his views change after befriending a German colleague Hans Dietering. Certain political issues and cross-rivalries anger Jacquot. There are some who try to suppress him. From these, Dietering subtly unwinds him. Even Jacquot holds his head high and follows his instincts.

In spite of getting hold of a likely suspect, who is almost proven guilty, Jacquot’s guts disagree. Time and again he visits the crime spot and contemplates his various theories. Some traces lead him ahead, yet some questions and facts obstruct him. It feels that he is moving in a circle without any vision of an end.

Nevertheless, his love – Claudine, unknowingly presents him a strong track. His investigations lead him to the covert incidences hushed during the war. Years ago, a blossoming love story cruelly came to an end. Betrayal killed many lives.

Soon Jacquot sees a ray of hope with Marie – Ange Buhl’s arrival. She is a beautiful girl with unusual powers. Her persona powerfully engulfs everyone present in the novel. Her presence showers beauty on everything and everyone around her. She can hear what others cannot. She can see what others will dare not. She can feel where others turn numb. Clues appear vividly, when Marie – Ange Buhl guides Jacquot.

After completing his education at Oxford, Martin O’Brien first landed a job as a trainee foreign-exchange broker in 1973. However, he detested it from the start and left it in the first week itself. His heart was always in writing. To support himself as a writer, he first got a job for himself at a hamburger bar. Then, he earned a place in the copy department of Vogue and worked there for seven years. His other book Jacquot and the Waterman (2005) took five years to get published.

When asked if he would love to make France his home, his spontaneous reply was, “Yes, in fact we (him and his wife) are thinking of Languedoc or the area near Biarritz and the Spanish enjoyment of good food, good wine, music … Their enthusiasm, I suppose.”

Maybe from this comes his ease with the liberal French expressions that he frequently uses in the narrative. Martin O’ Brien flows with his story efficiently, making it a page turner. Thorough information of how the crime investigation works, certain interesting technicalities and what issues an Inspector faces are vividly portrayed.

Is it magic or something else that helps unearth the truth of the case? Only reading Jacquot and the Angel will shell out the charming answer.