Crush by Frederic Dard

Frederic Dard is one of the best loved French crime writers, producing hundreds of suspense thrillers, including The Executioner Weeps, for which he won the 1957 Grand prix de literature policiere. Crush was originally published as Les Seclerats (The Scoundrels).

Seventeen year-old Louise sees no way out of her French countryside town, which only offers factories spewing smoke. Living with her mother (her father unknown) in a crumbling house next to the cabbage patches, she walks through the right side of town, where limestone houses feature front gardens. She walks past the home of Monsieur and Madame Roosland so many times, they invite her in. The American couple even take her for a drive in their shiny roadster, and Louise proposes she become thieir live-in maid. Surprisingly, they accept. While Jess Roosland is at work, Thelma leaves all the cooking and cleaning to the girl while she lounges with records, drinking whisky until Jess comes home, still in her open dressing gown, "putting everything on display that a lady would normally keep to herself." Jess has grown more handsome to Louise as time passed, he deserves so much more than a lush wife. At the Roosland's Christmas party, the drunk guests run amok, and Louise discovers Thelma in flagrante with an American General.

On a tragic night, the warning gate was left up at the train station, and the Roosland roadster was caught in the path of the train. Jess was thrown free, but Thelma was seriously hurt, taken to hospital with Louise. It couldn't be anything but a horrible accident, but perhaps now, Louise has a chance to prove her unspoken love to Jess, a love so intense it hurt.

Our narrator is a petulant teenager, her likes and dislikes flavour the story. She has a desire for the perceived life the Americans have, but how far will she go to get it?

This is more of a psychological novel than crime or thriller - however, Dard throws a special twist into it that qualifies it as straight up murder. This twist was a welcome surprise, the cherry on the top which made the novel sing - as well as illuminate the light bulb over my head which reminded me that - I had actually read this novel before.

The works of Frederic Dard are always unique and recommended.

Available widely in print, eBook, and audio.

My other Frederic Dard reviews:

Bird In A Cage

The Gravedigger's Bread

The King of Fools

1959 / Tradeback / 160 pages