Alain Delambre was made redundant from his role as an HR Manager about 4 years ago since which time he hasn't managed to obtain a similar role when out of the blue his perfect job comes up and he applies.

So starts a well written suspense thriller.

How far would you go to get that job after being virtually unemployed for all that time?

Inhuman Resources is the first book I have read by the French author Pierre Lemaitre and I found it very enjoyable and an excellent read.

Recommended

Firstly thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an ARC of this publication in return for an unbiased review of the book.
I am always honest in my reviews and have to say that I was excited to read this book having read the publishing notes and description. I was however disappointed with the storyline and given the popularity of this author in his native country I am sure that that is purely down to me rather than the quality of story. For that reason, it's three stars from me.

I'd read a couple of books by this author in his Verhœven series which I really enjoyed. I was pleased to be able to read something different from him. This one is about Alain Delambre, an approaching 60 ex HR manager. The only jobs he has had for the past 4 years have been low paid positions and there seems to be no way out of his dilemma. And then he has an interview for a job that he would really like. Is there a snag?
I found the characters in this good and often vivid. However I also found the book really quite slow for some considerable time. We learn a lot about his life, problems and family. I realise that the scene has to be set but for me there was too much description and too little action until almost halfway through.
The idea that the job interview that Alain hopes to be shortlisted for is a role playing hostage situation is interesting. The reality was fascinating and the book came alive for me at this point. It was far faster moving and twisted well. Some of the characters who had felt a little shadowy too came to the fore. In particular Lucie, his daughter, and Charles, an ex workmate became more prominent and interesting. Equally some of the people involved with the "job interview" were worthwhile and interesting.
Ultimately I feel that some of this reads very well indeed. There is a powerful story with some decent characters in. However I did find it very slow at times too. I wouldn't recommend it as a first book to try of Lemaitre's however fans will probably be interested to read it. 3.5/5 overall for me.

Another brilliant entry from this author, who never writes exactly what you might expect of a particular genre. This is all at once a personal and family drama, a social commentary, a satire of recruitment and assessment processes in big companies and a psychothriller. Never boring!

Translated from the French, this is an extraordinarily dark and twisted satirical novel with a rather different take on the usual crime genre. Pierre Lemaitre specialises in the odd and the strange, and here he walks into this territory with style and panache. 57 year old Alain Delambre, ex-Human Resources executive, has been down on his luck and his self esteem has taken a battering for some time as he struggles with the poorly rewarded part time jobs he has been forced to take. Delambre is your everyman, nothing special, experiencing what so many others have undergone. Finding himself in a precarious position, somewhat unexpectedly, a large organisation with dark motives and agenda offers him the opportunity of a interview for a job he is willing to sell his soul for. Lemaitre structures the story into three distinct parts, with the first and last sections narrated by Delambre.

Framed within a background of a troubled French economy and rising unemployment that provides a sharp, pertinent social and political commentary, this is a story of desperation, brutal violence, deception, humiliation, lies, blackmail and an outrageous hostage scenario. It exposes the laws of the jungle that much of the corporate world operates by. Lemaitre does stretch credulity on numerous occasions as Delambre ditches all sense of ethics and morality for a job he believes is absolutely his. Is there anything he will not do? Delambre's life begins to derail at a startling rate, as his personal and family life becomes a disaster zone, unsurprising given his decisions and behaviour. The role playing heads into volatile and beautifully imagined surreal territory. The author has written a complex, smart and offbeat piece of crime fiction that was a pleasure to read and highly entertaining. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.

The very strange tale of Alain Delambre, a 57-year-old former Human Resources executive who was made redundant 4 years ago. Since then he has been in a variety of low-paid, part-time jobs, while he seeks to return to his career in management.

One day, his supervisor at his dead-end job kicks him in the backside and Alain retaliates by headbutting the man, breaking his nose. Colleagues tell him not to worry, but soon he is being threatened with court action and Alain expects the worst.

Out of the blue, a large company invites him to an interview and soon he's determined to do anything to get this job. So, when he's asked to take part in the ultimate recruitment test - a role-playing game that involves hostage-taking - Alain commits himself wholeheartedly to the task. He desperately needs to regain his self respect and, despite his wife's misgivings, he agrees to the plan.

What follows is a mindboggling mix of domestic drama, social comment, dark deeds in the world of big business and episodes of extreme violence - all spiced with Lemaitre's trademark dark humour - until Alain finds out that the odds were stacked against him from the start. His personal life unravels as he neglects his wife and his daughter Mathilde sides with her mother who leaves home. He's already assaulted his son-in-law when he refused to lend him money, then conned Mathilde into parting with the deposit for her new apartment. All the while, Alain ramps up his bid to become the best recruit for the job he fervently believes should be his, hiring private detectives to find out more about the executives he's due to assess, along with an "expert" in hostage situations.

Despite being translated from French to English, the somewhat complicated narrative moves along relatively smoothly. Throughout there are newspaper headlines about the French economy, unemployment statistics and redundancy plans, all heightening the pressure on Alain in his desperate quest for a job. All of this diverts his attention from what's really happening in his life.

I've read and enjoyed Lemaitre's Verhoeven Trilogy, but this story is very, very different. At times, I felt it was too far-fetched, but most of this drama is very credible, almost mundane - although many of the characters are anything but! I found the character of Alain to be extremely exasperating, but that only made him more human, even though he rapidly ditches any morals he might have had in pursuit of his "dream" job. This is an entertaining read by a writer whose talent extends well beyond your average crime thriller.

My thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.