The first book I've read by this author, and I'm pleased to see that his others are on Kindle Unlimited, so I will be reading those too. Highly recommended.

This is the second of Graeme Macrae Burnet’s crime novels featuring Chief Inspector Georges Gorski, the shy chief of police of the sleepy rural village of Saint-Louis in Alsace in France. Gorski is called to an accident on the A35 highway—a car has left the road in bad weather, killing the driver. There seems to be nothing untoward about the crash, but Gorski collects the facts, and then visits the dead man’s wife who is puzzled that he would have been on that road at all. He was supposed to be having dinner with business colleagues in town, which he did once a week. She asks Gorski to break the news to her son, Raymond, who accepts it without much reaction.
Raymond is a teenager who had a difficult relationship with his father, and is going through the confusions and sexual discovery of growing up. Much of the novel follows him as he tries in his own way to discover the connection between what happened to his father on the night of his death and an address in the nearby city of Mulhouse written on a scrap of paper that he finds in his father’s desk.
He goes to the address and decides to try to discover its connection with his father. However, far from being an amateur sleuth committed to solving the mystery, he becomes sidetracked by a knife he covets that he sees in a shop in Mulhouse, and even more so by an attractive girl he sees leaving the building. He desires both, but discovers that you must be careful what you wish for.
Raymond is a brilliantly constructed adolescent. The fact that he’s ineffective and not very likable makes him still more believable. And even though he doesn’t win much of our sympathy for his trials as he steals money from his mother and lies to his girlfriend about his Mulhouse activities, we can relate to his turmoil.
Gorski on the other hand is rather charming as he tries to negotiate life after his wife has left him. We understand the pressures of caring for his aged mother and juggling the requirements and insecurities of his job. He sees himself as a plodder, but in fact he’s smart and intuitive. He’s at his best when he overcomes his feelings of inadequacy, as when he says to Raymond after the boy has been lying to him:
“I’ve spent twenty-five years being lied to, you get pretty good at reading the signs. For example, a few moments ago when I asked if your father had ever let anything slip about being in Strasbourg, you cast your eyes upward to the left. Of course you were not aware of it. It’s a reflex. And you know what it told me? It told me you were lying; that you were recalling something that you declined to share with me. Now, that’s fine. Strictly speaking, you’re not obliged to tell me anything. But don’t think I don’t know you’re hiding something.”
Gorski is less successful when flattered by the attentions of a flamboyant, up-and-coming detective from Mulhouse. He allows himself to be bullied into going along with a way-out theory the detective constructs linking Raymond’s father and a nasty murder of a high-class prostitute, a juicy, high profile case. By way of celebration, Gorski allows himself to be carried along on a drinking binge, forgetting a dinner appointment with his wife.
Nevertheless, it is hardly a spoiler that it’s Gorski’s careful and thoughtful detective work that actually solves the cases.
Burnet has conjured an enjoyable novel with a great sense of place. You can almost taste the Alsacian specialties and quite understand that Gorski’s lunch, with a glass of wine or two, might take most of the afternoon. The Gorski novels are much more about character than plot, and have been compared to Simenon’s detective stories. They certainly fit into that genre and that league.
As in his other novels, Burnet pretends to be merely presenting a manuscript written by someone else. The implication is that Raymond himself as a grown man is the actual author. While this device worked well in his debut novel His Bloody Project (a finalist for the Booker prize), here it seems unnecessary and a little self-indulgent. The author exploits it to make a few critical comments of his own in the guise of being the translator. He concludes: “It is of course for readers . . . to decide for themselves who is right. A translator is first and foremost a reader, and it is my hope that others will share my pleasure in returning to the non-descript streets of Saint-Louis.”
No question about that.

I was drawn to this book because of the author’s previous, outstanding novel His Bloody Project. While A35 has its moments, overall I wasn’t as taken by the narrative, It seemed too subtle for my tastes.

An intriguing premise but I think the mystery element fizzled out a bit. This was really more around the main characters than the actual incident. I got a bit bored of Gorski's endless drinking!

An interesting book but one that ran out of steam for me half way through. It tells the story of a car crash that seems a simple accident. One detective cannot help but investigate as things spiral in unexpected ways.

Like The Disspearance of Adele Bedeu, the characters are unusual, provincial Frenchmen and women whose lives are relatively bland. Burnet turns blandness into very interesting characters nonetheless.

I'm a huge fan of Burnet's other work. I found at times this was too similar to the previous book involving similar characters. Burnet is a great writer, with a wonderful style and I'd highly recommend his work. I'd start with his others though.

This book felt very drawn out in a lot of places . Definitely needs refining but as it is this was unable to hold my attention.

Found this to be a fantastic read!
I liked it, not all crimes have a resolution... it felt very honest and real, and just made it more hilarious.

Thanks to NetGalley/Skyhorse for providing an electronic ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Graeme Burnet has been in my TBR sights since I read that his first (I think?) novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker, so I jumped on this one. I'm glad I read it, but what a strange book. Is it a mystery? Is it a character study? It sort of reads like a Robert Altman film, with disparate characters all thrown together in strange ways.

Gorski, the police chief seemingly in charge of this case, is an odd duck. Recently abandoned by his wife, he is regarded with flat out derision by his officers (save one young one seeking a mentor). After a man dies in a car accident on the A35 (hence the title), Gorski seems certain that there is more to the story. There *is*, but none of it is exactly illegal. And yet, the truth causes near disaster in the lives of the families left behind by the dead man.

This was an enjoyable read, although the characters were not particularly likable (Gorski isn't a bad sort, but I found myself really irritated that he didn't stand up for himself at least once; he is an extremely passive character in his personal dealings, aside from being a bit of a terrier in the police realm).

The thing that threw me for a loop was the afterword, which seemed to indicate that <spoiler>another author entirely had written the book, and it was published after his suicide and his mother's death, in order to spare her any heartache. I had to go online and read the review of the book in The Guardian in order to get what was going on. I'm still kind of wondering what the point of that was - perhaps to present the story as a found object? Apparently, it's presented as "translated by" Burnet, but I missed that entirely, so it may be that I'm too thick for the joke.</spoiler>

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book is the second in a series, but it can be read as a standalone.
The novel is a fascinating, character-driven mystery that takes place in a sleepy corner of France, near Switzerland and Germany. I enjoyed the book and would like to read the first book.

A very enjoyable mystery. I wasn't aware that this was the second book in a series but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of this book at all and I will now seek out the first story.

Graeme Macrae Burnet’s writing always transports me to my happy place. After reading and loving The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau, I knew I had to read more of Inspector Georges Gorski and his life in the sleepy mediocre French town of Saint- Louis, near the Swiss border. So I am grateful to Skyhorse and Arcadia Publishing for this opportunity.

This is prose you can wallow in and life described that, for all its ennui, you feel you could be living. It is France for the Francophile and I loved it.

Like his previous book, Burnet affects to be the translator of this work by author Raymond Brunet and we will come to understand that it carries strongly autobiographical overtones of M. Brunet’s own life.

George Gorski, Inspector of Police in the town is separated from his wife, Celine, and though not really missing her, he feels more keenly the absence of his daughter, Clemence. He spends his free moments in the town’s cafes, trying to avoid being too obvious a drinker.

When a fatal car accident on the A35 kills long established lawyer Bernard Barthelme, the case looks pretty mundane. But Barthelme’s somewhat attractive widow Lucette, asks Gorski to find out just why Barthelme was on that road at all.

Gorski, who has little else to do and who feels an attraction for Mme Barthelme, agrees to see what he can find out.

Meanwhile, M. Barthelme’s teenage son, Raymond, has questions of his own and in seeking the answers he will find out some truths that will have far reaching consequences.

This book works because of the richness of its characters, the resonance of the time, place and setting. All these things come together to offer an immensely rich story telling experience that keeps the reader spellbound. This is an old fashioned mystery, solved the old fashioned way, without drama, tension or even the hint of a fast paced thrill. Like Simenon, Brunet/Burnet’s Gorski solves his crimes by knowing and understanding human emotion and behaviour and without expectation of pleasure or reward.

I revel in the languid prose, the detailed descriptiveness and the sheer fabulousness of the writing. This is a bright and shining gem in a yard that can often feel full of coal.

Verdict: Terrific prose and an homage to literary antecedent such as Simenon, I was immersed in The Accident on the A35. I loved it and its high on my must read list.

What a very interesting story! I have read Graeme before but I are sure I will read one of his other books! Thank you so much Graeme for allowing to reading this fantastic book!

This was a surprisingly good read. I had no idea what to expect really, so it’s always nice to not be bored halfway through and flicking and hoping the end is nigh.

I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, maybe Yvette? But none of the others, but I could empathise and feel their pain, melancholy, frustrations and much sadness. The plot itself thickened, and I dud guess the subplot reasonably early in. However, the thing that drew me in, was just the constant little niggles and doubts of ‘could it be’... ‘did he?’... and ‘did she?... I liked it, very subtle but very cleverly done.

Thanks NetGalley for the read. It was certainly a book I most probably wouldn’t gave purchased, but it’s one I highly recommend.

Thoroughly engrossing story with a blah ending but written in an appealing style. Especially good are the depictkons of provincial French life, revolving around bars where old men play card games.

I found this to be a slow read, but not in a bad way. Normally with mysteries you are grantically trying to find out who the "bad guy", THis was not your typical thriller, but I did enjoy this.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Although I was pleased to receive a copy of this through NetGalley and the publisher, this book is not one of the best I've read. I'm sure many people will love it but it is not something I can recommend or feel comfortable reviewing, although I did finish it.

My review will be very short: a wonderful noir, well written and with a very original plot.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

“The Accident on the A35: An Inspector Gorski Investigation” by Graeme Macrae Burnet deservedly earned accolades as a Guardian Best Crime and Thriller Book for 2017, and was long-listed for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award for 2018. This highly compelling historical thriller — one of my fave genres — is beautifully described in the Publisher’s Note, which I’ll share here while awarding it 5/5!

“The Accident on the A35 returns to the scene of Burnet’s accomplished first novel, The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau--the small French town of Saint-Louis. Detective Gorski is called away from his night of solitary drinking to the site of a car accident that left Bertrand Barthelme, a respected solicitor, dead. When the deceased's rather attractive wife suggests that the crash may not have been an accident, Gorski looks closer into Barthelme's circumspect movements on the night of his death. His investigation leads him to various bars, hotels, and brothels in the nearby city of Strasbourg. At the same time, Barthelme's rebellious son, drunk on Jean Paul Sartre novels, is conducting an investigation of his own. Their independent, dual inquiries lead the reader down a twisted road marked by seedy back rooms, bar brawls, and--as we have come to expect from Burnet--copious amounts of wine.

“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.”

Pub Date 30 Oct 2018

Thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#TheAccidentOnTheA35 #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley and Skyhorse for the chance to read this lovely book.
Macrae Burnet has a wonderful writing style particularly around environment and the small details of life which make you feel part of Saint-Louis and the petty slights visited on Inspector Gorski, and at times I would have happily been his drinking companion! His solving of the cases was really secondary to the tale of small town life, a boy's coming of age and the secrets of life behind closed doors.
My only negative comment would be that maybe the "found" books conceit is becoming a little tired -just let the characters speak for themselves!
More please

Thankyou to NetGalley, Skyhorse Publishing, Arcade Publishing and the author Graeme Macrae Burney for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Accident on the A35 in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I thought the storyline was good. I did enjoy reading this book but felt there was something missing from the plot. Please don't get me wrong. While I did like the book, I didn't love it.
A good read for a cosy, rainy day.