Bar Balto by Faiza Guene

Bar Balto

Faiza Guene

Brief, but extremely perceptive, this Parisian murder mystery is told in a series of monologues. The mix of male and female characters, all different ages, are well written and range from dark and disturbing to ridiculously funny. Some speak in youth slang, which may annoy a few readers but if you can overlook the LOLs then do, because it's worth it. The plot twists throughout, leaving you unsure until the end who actually dunnit!

Extract
I heard on the radio that for two hundred thousand euros you can experience zero gravity for three minutes, a hundred kilometres above the Earth. In other words, one day soon some bloke's going to blow the money I'll spend my whole life trying to scrape together in the time it takes to smoke a fag.
Parallels
  • A Empire of the Wolves by Jean-Christophe Grange
  • The Smiling School for Calvinists by Bill Duncan