Ian G. Moore’s Juge Matthieu Lombard is a brilliant addition to the French crime fiction landscape. In his debut novel, Moore evocatively recreates the atmosphere of rural French life in the Loire valley close to the city of Tours whilst weaving in a timeless whodunnit in the classic style.
Moore, a sharply dressed Mod stand-up comedian with a justifiably formidable reputation, lives in the area presented, and has already produced two volumes of witty non-fiction about adapting to life in rural France, C’est Modnifique and A la Mod. While humour may have been his most obvious stock-in-trade so far, on this display, he is an engaging storyteller and an effortless stylist.
The characterisation is particularly strong in Playing the Martyr, with Lombard ably assisted by a crew of well-drawn cops that you can see yourself enjoying over several books, especially his put-upon oppo Aubret. The supporting cast is often the clincher in engaging with crime books: it’s hard to think of Rebus without Siobhan, Morse without Lewis or Dave Robicheaux without Clete Pucell. The procedural elements of Playing the Martyr are not dwelt upon unduly and there is enough in the characters for you to want to learn more about their motivations for tolerating and helping the troubled Lombard.
Other books set in France by Brit authors can often stray towards the twee, but Moore treads this line carefully and skilfully avoids such cloying pitfalls. With a fair wind and a bit of luck, a big publisher will see the potential in heartbroken widower Juge Lombard and this will be a series of books, even TV shows, before very long.
Playing the Martyr by Ian G. Moore is available on Kindle here.
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