The Accident on the A35 (The Gorski Novels)

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We were called shortly after 4.30am yesterday (Thursday 23 November) to reports of a collision between the Southfields roundabout and Shave Lane. The metafiction element of this book turns it into a work of art, and opens up a discussion about fiction and literature in general, and the way it may or may not be intertwined with the lives of the writers who wrote it. After reading this you may question other books, and which parts of them are real or fiction. It’s very poetic. Macrae Burnet becomes a character himself, that comments on and critiques the work, which to some extent, absolves him of the responsibility for any of it’s flaws. He says exactly what you are thinking at the end of the book. If it was overused it would be a cop-out, but it isn’t (to me at least, in fact I think it’s the first time I’ve seen this), so it feels very original. We’ll leave it at that before we spoil it for anyone. But it is a very interesting device which is beginning to characterise and define Macrae Burnet’s work. His Bloody Project was presented as a collection of documents unearthed by Burnet as he traced his family tree. This time he’s the translator of a French writer named Raymond Brunet, who after publishing The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau killed himself in 1992. Two decades later, on the death of his mother, lawyers acting for Raymond (mark the name) sent his publisher a parcel containing the manuscript of L’Accident sur l’A35. One more thing: the metafictional nods in the introduction and epilogue work very nicely this time; I was less keen on them with the previous novel but this time they add an entirely new dimension to the reading of this book. I can't and won't say why, but all becomes very clear. The narrative is told from two perspectives, that of Detective Gorski and that of Raymond, the teenaged son of the deceased. Gorski is still in the town of St, Louis, a small city in France where "the inhabitants are most comfortable with failure. Success serves only to remind the citizenry of their own shortcomings and is thus enthusiastically resented". Gorski's wife has left him and he spends his time drinking heavily at Le Pot. While he misses his wife, he enjoys solitude and the ability to do as he wishes when he wishes.

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! There is an introduction and an afterword, and it's essential to read them both. The book is presented as a manuscript come to light years after the author's death, and translated by Burnet from the original French. This device is crucial in getting the full impact of what follows, but I'll go no further than that since the journey is best taken without a roadmap. This is actually the second book featuring Inspector Gorski. I haven't read the first one, The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau, but didn't find that presented a problem – this one works entirely as a standalone.The narration has the simple momentum of classic crime writing, heavy on lit cigarettes, light on subordinate clauses. Irresponsibly drawn to Lucette – he knows he’s a fool – Gorski digs for dirt on Bertrand, who at the time of his death was not (as his wife believed) returning from a traditional midweek supper with colleagues. That was Bertrand’s cover story – but for what? Why did he secretly withdraw a large wad of cash every Tuesday morning? And isn’t it odd that the damage to his Mercedes doesn’t seem consistent with hitting a tree?

Don't expect your average, run-of-the-mill detective/mystery story here -- this book is something that transcends the mundane and the ordinary. It's so refreshing these days to find an author who rises well out of the mainstream and moves his work into literary territory, and that is precisely why I'm so drawn to his work. It's also why I'll keep buying and reading Burnet's books as long as he continues to write them. If you want an average crime drama, well, this is definitely not that. It’s simple to get live RAC traffic reports for your area, which means you’ll always stay informed about delays, slow-moving traffic and any other incidents that could affect your journey. Accident on the A35 is a literary mystery. Not like other crime mysteries that are plot-driven with many twists and turns. It’s important to step into this novel realizing you are about to read an easy flowing mystery that is character-driven. Select the ‘Location’ tab and you’ll be able to get traffic news for your location by adding your postcode, city or town. You’ll get a live picture of traffic in and around that area, and you’ll also be able to save the details as your default location. While any follow up is unnecessary, as Chief Inspector, Gorski decides he will make some enquiries for the attractive young widow. And the inconsistencies he uncovers, coupled with a puzzling reticence displayed by the dead man’s colleagues and friends soon has Gorski intrigued, and determined to find out just what’s been going on. Meanwhile, Raymond Bethelme, the accident victim’s 17-year-old son, is conducting a sort of enquiry of his own, based on a scrap of paper found in his father’s desk drawer.The story opens when a lawyer is killed in a road accident, the titular "accident on the A35". It appears a routine accident however Georges Gorski wonders where the lawyer was prior to the accident and this query opens a can of worms which sustains the rest of the book. Gorski, led on by the dead man's wife, who does not believe that her husband's death was an accident, travels to a neighboring town to try and find answers about the actual cause of Barthelme's death. It appears that Barthelme had lied about his whereabouts on the night of his death.