Before long, saving Alex's life will be the least of Commandant Verhoeven's considerable challenges.

She is beautiful, yes, but also extremely tough and resourceful. The diminutive and brilliant detective knows from bitter experience the urgency of finding the missing woman as quickly as possible-but first he must understand more about her.Īs he uncovers the details of the young woman's singular history, Camille is forced to acknowledge that the person he seeks is no ordinary victim. Will hunger, thirst, or the rats get her first?Īpart from a shaky eyewitness report of the abduction, Police Commandant Camille Verhoeven has nothing to go on: no suspect, no leads, and no family or friends anxious to find a missing loved one. Her abductor appears to want only to watch her die. Upon winning the prestigious 2013 Crime Writers Association International Dagger Award, the judges praised Alex by saying, 'An original and absorbing ability to leash incredulity in the name of the fictional contract between author and reader. A police procedural, a thriller against time, a race between hunted and hunter, and a whydunnit, written from multiple points of view that explore several apparently parallel stories which finally meet.'Īlex Prévost-kidnapped, savagely beaten, suspended from the ceiling of an abandoned warehouse in a tiny wooden cage-is running out of time. Upon winning the prestigious 2013 Crime Writers Association International Dagger Award, the judges praised Alex by saying, 'An original and absorbing ability to leash incredulity in the name of the fictional contract between author and reader.

Alex by Pierre Lemaitre