“You were back in Marseilles because of Manu. To take out the son of a bitch who’d killed him… You weren’t after the guy who’d whacked Manu. A hitman, for sure. Cold and anonymous. Someone from Lyons, or Milan. Someone you wouldn’t find. The guy you were after was the scumbag who’d ordered the hit. Who’d wanted Manu killed. You didn’t want to know why. You didn’t need any reasons. Not a single one. Anyone attacked Manu, it was like they’d attacked you.”

Total Chaos
By Jean-Claude Izzo

The streets and neighborhoods of Marseilles come alive in this gritty story about friends who live on the edge of poverty and danger. Manu, Ugo and Fabio engaged in petty crimes as they were growing up until finally Fabio decided to take a different path but despite the fact that he turned to law enforcement he still remains true to his friends.

Ugo returns to Marsailles to the avenge the death of their friend Manu and is killed himself. Now Detective Fabio Montale wants answers for himself and for Lole, the woman they all have loved, and he realizes that corruption is just as much a part of the police force as it its outside of the department.

To complicate matters a friend of Fabio, a young woman, is missing and Fabio fears the worst. Unlike her immigrant father who met with a lot of hardship in France, Leila is a woman with an education and big dreams. She is French but there are those who will never see her as anything other than an immigrant.

Throughout the novel Fabio reminisces about his past and not only does the reader learn about the friends and their motivations but it’s also a history of Marseilles.  Like any other country tensions rise when there is high unemployment. Crime goes up, the youth and immigrant communities feel marginalized and become a scapegoat for the ills of society and well you have communities on the verge of chaos.

Poetry, writers, good food and world music also populate the pages of this novel creating a rich atmosphere. The mystery and motivations were sometimes a bit hard to keep track of but in this novel the mystery almost takes second place to the setting and in this book it worked. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year. I look forward to the rest of the Marseilles trilogy books.

Source: Advance Review Copy

I went to my book group last night and we discussed Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo, which is probably going to go on my list of favorites of the year. I’ll try to post a quick review tomorrow but I will say that one of the great things about this book is that I feel like I have a whole new picture of France.

I’ve read my fair share of books set in France – specifically, Paris so I feel like I’ve always had this more romanticized and glamorous image of France in my mind. The art, the wine, the good food, etc. but reading this novel set in Marseilles was a whole other look at France. It is just a more complete picture I would say.

Next up we have books to read by Stephen King, Andrew Kaplan and Robert Crais. I’ll be looking forward to those.

Now you are probably wondering about the BookPage pictured here with my book and that’s not the latest issue but I’ve been in major organizing mode and found it underneath stacks of TBR paperwork. Glad I did because we are off on vacation soon and I need to plan which books to take with me. I want a good combo of mysteries, fiction and maybe a classic for good measure.

While I was at Barnes & Noble I did find a couple of books that caught my attention but as I was meeting my group I didn’t really have a chance to make a choice on any of them. Here’s what I found:

• A Violet Season by Kathy Leonard Czepiel. A mother-daughter story set in 1898 amidst the backdrop of the violet industry.
• The Love of My Youth by Mary Gordon. A story of first lovers meeting again after more than 30 years.
• The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck. I’m a Frida fan so this goes on my list. Viva la vida!
• Blame by Michelle Huneven. This book seems to have won or been nominated for lots of awards. Not that that’s a requisite for me but I feel like I hadn’t even heard of this book.

Let me know if you’ve read any of these. I have a coupon for B&N so I may have to put it to good use this weekend.