Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
When Boni finally leaves him, Jacquot feels the blues deeply finding only work as an escape from his depression. There are three brutalized beautiful young women drowned by what appears to be a serial killer in the Marseilles area. The media is going crazy, which makes the politicians on edge and even wackier. Marseille Police Judiciare Chief Yves Guimpier is grumpy and jumpier than usual as he tells Jacquot to catch the perpetrator immediately. As he continues to investigate while wondering what happened with Boni, Jacquot ironically thinks he has never worked harder on a case yet his superior says work even harder. Rugby was never this difficult.
JACQUOT AND THE WATERMAN is a terrific French police procedural starring a wonderful protagonist who finds his life falling apart on the personal and professional fronts. Jacquot cannot understand why his relationship with Boni collapsed and how he can do anything more than he is on the serial killer investigation. His troubles almost drown the likable detective, but in spite of the pressure and nothing and no one to help him relieve it, Jacquot keeps plugging away even as each clue makes the case spin further out of resolution. This is a fabulous tale with apparently other Jacquot stories already released in England.