Thursday, July 16, 2020

The Awkward Squad: Sophie Hénaff

A police detective, Anne Capestan, has been suspended for six months and expects her superior, Buron, to end her employment. Instead he gives her a new department made up of misfits and rejects from other areas, and provides little in the way of supplies. They don't even have a siren for the car allotted to them. The event that caused Capestan's suspension was related to excessive force on the job, leading to a death; thus she cannot carry a firearm.

This is Sophie Hénaff's first crime fiction novel. Originally published in France in 2015, it was translated to English in 2017. The premise is similar to The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen (set in Denmark), with a much larger cast. This novel is set in France, and it is more humorous in tone.


Capestan's group is given all the cold cases for the region, and her superiors don't expect them to be solved. Some examples of her new squad are: Lieutenant José Torrez, known as Malchance, whose last few partners have all been injured or died while working with him; Commandant Louis-Baptiste Lebreton, formerly of internal affairs; Capitaine Eva Rosière, author of detective novels which have been developed into a TV show; Capitaine Merlot, an alcoholic; and Lieutenant Évrard, a compulsive gambler. In the boxes of case files that they are allowed to work on they find two unsolved murders.

There are amusing scenes, as the members of the new group learn to work with each other and they set up their new location. The group has not been given real offices, but a spacious apartment in a building where no one will see them. Setting up the apartment, complete with wallpaper and comfortable sofas, is handled with humor. Each person in the group brings unique characteristics even though they have not worked out well in other departments. Sometimes these are comical or disagreeable characteristics but somehow they pull together and use their skills to support the cases they work on.

However, with all the humor, the cases are taken seriously, and most of the detectives assigned to the squad are eager to do well in this job in hopes of getting back to their old jobs. The story is paced well, and there are twists and turns along the way. My husband bought this book and loaned it to me after he read it; we both enjoyed it and plan on reading the second book in the series, Stick Together.

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Publisher:   MacLehose Press, 2018 (orig. pub. 2015)
Translated from the French by Sam Gordon
Length:      260 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Series:       Awkward Squad #1
Setting:     France
Genre:       Police procedural
Source:     Borrowed from my husband.



18 comments:

Kay said...

I've got this one and am glad to be reminded that I have it. Ha! Sounds like I'd enjoy getting to know the characters. Glad you liked it.

TracyK said...

I hope you like this one, Kay. It has just the right amount of tension and a strong female main character.

Margot Kinberg said...

Oh, this sounds so appealing, Tracy! A solid mystery plot, some interesting characters, and a strong female 'lead.' All of that gets my attention. I like it when an author can integrate a little wit, too. Not enough to make the story too comic, but enough to lighten it up. Glad you enjoyed this.

TracyK said...

It was a very good read, Margot, and it will be interesting to see how well we like book 2 in the series.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Sounds like the perfect book for NOW.

TracyK said...

I agree, Patti. It has a good mystery with interesting characters, without being too heavy or dark. For me, it was a quick read.

col2910 said...

Glad you enjoyed it Tracy. I have it one the pile, maybe I'll get to it before the end of the year.

TracyK said...

I recommend it, Col. It is a bit different from your usual reading, plus written by a woman author, and not lightweight at all.

crimeworm.wordpress.com said...

I've got this, and you've made it sound really appealing - will be moving it right up the TBR pile! Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds great.

TracyK said...

Hi, Crimeworm. Hope that you are doing well. And that you will like this book when you read it. It is worth a try.

CLM said...

This sounds very good but I am surprised so many of your friends own it already when I haven't even heard of it! I hate not being in the know. The cover is unusual.

I like books about cold cases and I guess that is how my sister finally convinced me to read Harry Bosch. I didn't think I liked hard-boiled detectives but I enjoy his doggedness (spellcheck tried to change that to ruggedness!) and think I have now read them all.

TracyK said...

I was surprised too, Constance. Neither Glen nor I had heard of this book before he saw it in a book catalog in March, and he ordered it.

Wow, you have read all the Harry Bosch novels. I have read only the first two, although I have several more on my TBR that I bought at the book sale. Now, with 21 books in the series, it feels overwhelming.

Rick Robinson said...

New one to me, I guess I'm not "in the know". It'll be the old 'if I didn't have so many other things to read...' deal.

I've only read one Bosch, The Concrete Blonde, but I'm on the final McCaffrey Pern book now, and will then have reread them all (again).

TracyK said...

My, you read fast, Rick. I can't believe you got through all the Pern books already. I am looking forward to reading more of them. My son found a few more Pern books in his paperbacks, so that helps.

crimeworm.wordpress.com said...

Harry Bosch is probably my favourite detective - along with Rankin and Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy! I adore cold cases in crime fiction.

TracyK said...

Crimeworm, I have read one book by McKinty, two by Connelly, and two by Rankin. I enjoyed all of them, and I should start reading more by those authors. How to ever keep up with all the good books out there?

Clothes in Books said...

I really like the sound of this - a lot of the features that I enjoy in a procedural: cold cases, humour, clashing personalities. If only I didn't have so many books already... You temptress Tracy!

TracyK said...

I know what you mean, Moira. I am much more open to books of all types now and I don't have any more room for more books.