The Awkward Squad (MacLehose Press Editions)

Review This summer's crime read ― Cosmopolitan You will not want to tear yourself away ... Extremely original -- Jean-Louis Debré ― Le Point A scintillating read ... we are already hooked ― Elle From her first novel, Sophie Hénaff proves that she can really pull the trigger ― Paris Match Original and amusing, it's French noir with a sly smile. ― The Times A delightful creation, the members of her team amusing and the book lively. -- Marcel Berlins ― The Times Amusing and interesting ... this very enjoyable tale has deservingly won several French literary prizes -- Jessica Mann ― Literary Review Product Description Suspended from her job as a promising police officer for firing "one bullet too many", Anne Capestan is expecting the worst when she is summoned to H.Q. to learn her fate. Instead, she is surprised to be told that she is to head up a new police squad, working on solving old cold cases. Though relieved to still have a job, Capestan is not overjoyed by the prospect of her new role. Even less so when she meets her new team: a crowd of misfits, troublemakers and problem cases, none of whom are fit for purpose and yet none of whom can be fired. But from this inauspicious start, investigating the cold cases throws up a number of strange mysteries for Capestan and her team: was the old lady murdered seven years ago really just the victim of a botched robbery? Who was behind the dead sailor discovered in the Seine with three gunshot wounds? And why does there seem to be a curious link with a ferry that was shipwrecked off the Florida coast many years previously? Translated from the French by Sam Gordon Book Description A new crime series with a difference: a brilliant police officer joins forces with a team of misfits to investigate decades-old unsolved crimes. About the Author SOPHIE HÉNAFF is a journalist, author and former Lyonnaise bar owner. She began her journalism career as a critic at Lyon Poche, before moving to Paris to write for Cosmopolitan, where she established her own humorous column, "La Cosmolite". The Awkward Squad was first published as Poulets grillés in 2015, and is her first novel.