Tormented, rebellious police detective Victor Lessard races to track down a ruthless killer in Montreal. “Martin Michaud is a master at twisty storytelling and compelling atmosphere.” — Catherine McKenzie “Never Forget is a crackerjack read.” — Quill & Quire “A raucous crime thriller.” — Publishers Weekly When a homeless man jumps to his death in Old Montreal, the police discover two … a homeless man jumps to his death in Old Montreal, the police discover two wallets in his possession: one belonging to a retired psychiatrist who was murdered in a bizarre ritual, the other to a powerful corporate lawyer who has vanished. As Montreal police detective Victor Lessard and his partner, Jacinthe Taillon, work to solve the separate mysteries, a dark conspiracy begins to emerge.
While the pressure builds and the bodies accumulate, disturbing secrets come to light about a pivotal moment in political history. But will Lessard and Taillon crack the case in time to stop the killer from striking again?
more
Never Forget: A Victor Lessard Thriller by Martin Michaud is a fabulous, gripping, gritty murder/thriller/crime novel that is part police-procedural part conspiracy theory stunner. This is apparently translated from French to English, however I never could tell.
I enjoyed the twists and turns and Mr Michaud kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I flew through this book…it was that good.
This is the first book I have read from this author and I will make sure to find more. He has created a fan out of me.
5/5 stars
This is the third book for this series but the first book translated to English I had a bit of a problem reading it as I felt I was missing something it referred to things that happened before it was a good story but would have been so much better to read the others in the series first to understand it better
I was given this ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions in this review are my own.
When a homeless man (Lortie) jumps to his death, he leaves two wallets behind. The wallets are found to belong to two people who have been murdered. As the sergeant detective, Victor Lessard, tries to piece together the connection between Lortie and the two deceased, more people go missing and bodies are popping up along the way. It’s a crazy, tangled web of lies, cover ups, and murder. Nothing is as it seems and the most likely suspects turn up dead.
Until now, I had never read any books by this author. I was relieved that, although this book is 3rd in a series, it was also great as a stand alone. The author was very descriptive so that I knew who each character was and what part they played in the story. I stayed up entirely too late reading. I couldn’t put this book down. It was never boring as there was always something happening that kept me on the edge of my seat, so to speak.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series and am thankful to Netgalley for the introduction!
This is book three in the Victor Lessard series, but the first translated into English. Why did the publishers decide to do this? I have no idea. While this could’ve been confusing (and apparently was for some readers), Michaud includes a lengthy note at the beginning of the book that gives us quite a bit of background on Lessard and his partner Taillon. That was helpful.
One oddity: sometimes Michaud refers to characters by both their first and their last name in the same scene. For example, Loic Blouin-Dubois might be called Loic or Blouin-Dubois. This tripped me up several times, making me think the story was referring to two people rather than one. Once I remembered people’s names, I was fine.
Once I got into the story, I truly enjoyed it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between Victor Lessard and Jacinthe Taillon. They’re work partners and vie with each other for power, even over trivial things. He turns up the car heater; she turns it down. She turns the radio to one station; he switches to a different one.
Taillon is vivid: she drives with a lead foot on the accelerator, eats at every possible moment, and goes nuclear with everyone–even when it’s not a good idea. This is a cop you want behind the wheel when a criminal takes off in a stolen car: fearless, skilled, and ready to burn rubber in pursuit.
Lessard’s temper is slower to erupt, but don’t mistake him for mild mannered. He’s a former alcoholic and when he loses his temper, it’s unforgettable. Fresh out of rehab, he’s dealing with random and overwhelming outbursts of anger.
Even the supporting characters have their own lives and battles apart from the murder case. Lessard’s boss, Paul Delany, is dealing with his wife’s hospitalization from breast cancer and worries that it has metastasized. Young cop Loic is struggling to redeem himself after a huge mess-up on a previous case. Martin Lessard, Victor’s son, is involved in some activities his father will definitely disapprove–or will he?
The cast of law enforcement characters is large but the author gives everyone a distinct personality. I particularly liked a man nicknamed the Gnome, whose seven children come to the Christmas Eve party.
Another character, a nasty, unlikable man, is fleshed out by a tidbit of information. He longs to savor another Christmas Eve alone, watching a silent film, drinking champagne, and eating foie gras, just as he and his late mother did each year. Not my kind of Christmas Eve! But this desire takes the character from being another arrogant rich man with too much power and too little compassion, and makes him relatable: he misses his mom and their holiday tradition.
There are a lot of threads in this story. Among other things, we get the CIA, the JFK assassination, addiction, mental illness, experiments on brainwashing inflicted on helpless people . . . The list goes on. It comes together in the end, but I spent much of the book guessing and second-guessing how various elements fit together. Michaud throws in a heaping measure of red herrings that successfully diverted my attention. Consider yourself warned.
The publisher compares Michaud to authors like Michael Connolly, Ian Rankin, and Jo Nesbo. I’m familiar with all three authors, and I think the comparison is right on, particularly with Nesbo. Some of the violence in Never Forget is graphic, and I’ve noticed that Nesbo, too, includes some truly horrific details about violent crimes.
I’ve written before about my personal conflict with explicit violence: at what point does realistic violence become gratuitous violence? I don’t think Michaud crosses that line, but many readers might disagree. For me, the humanity of the police officers balances out the violence.
Certain character’s actions might trigger sexual assault victims. Though much of that aspect is implied rather than shown, it’s still disturbing. You might need to give Never Forget a pass.
This is a novel about memory. How it affects us. How we remember–or misremember–our own pasts and the collective pasts of communities and nations. And most of all, how some never forget a wrong done to them.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. It’s long but I think it’s worthwhile reading for crime fiction and thriller readers. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
Thanks to Dundurn Press and Netgalley for a copy of Never Forget in exchange for an honest review.
“NEVER FORGET” By Martin Michaud
This is the third in the series and my very first read from this very famous author, dubbed the Master of the Quebec Thriller and already a television show, this really piqued my interest. I am going to tell you friends, this did not disappoint. I am addicted to this thriller and police procedural suspense/mystery read, I loved the characters, the pacing and the amazing twisted plot that had me on the edge of my seat. This was a wonderful read for me that I highly enjoyed! I will be recommending this to everyone who wants to read an excellent crime thriller/suspense.
.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars.
Victor Lessard and Jacinthe Taillon are Montreal Police detectives who are investigating the death of a woman found in a warehouse. More deaths occur and they do eventually find who is responsible.
Pros: I liked the characters and the way the plot is developed. The translation is excellent. This is the 1st book in the series translated into English. There are vivid descriptions of car chases in bitter cold winter in Montreal.
Cons: The murders are connected to a conspiracy theory about the “real killers” behind President Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963. These conspiracy theories are numerous and far fetched. The book hangs a major element in the plot upon a thin conspiracy description.
There are some elements of truth in the plot. There are connections to CIA experiments in mid control drugs in the 60s, some of which took place in Canada.
One quote, by a Medical examiner thinking about a body: “Pearson had noticed long ago that when life departed a body, the remaining husk no longer seemed quite real, as though it were stripped of its essence. He had that impression now at the Jane Doe’s ashen face, which, at first glance, he didn’t recognize.”
Thanks to Dundurn Press and the author for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
3 and 1 / 2 stars
On a snowy near-Christmas in Montreal, a man commits suicide. He was obviously mentally ill and occasionally saw a psychiatrist. He was also homeless. He had two wallets in his possession that were not his. One belongs to an elderly psychiatrist who was recently murdered and the other to an attorney who is currently missing. But no one wants to file a missing persons case. How odd…
Sergeant Victor Lessard, trying to recoup his reputation after a disastrous case and his current partner Jacinthe Tallion, who is a loud, boisterous and bordering on irritating woman are on the cases.
At the same time, Victor is suffering a personal crisis regarding his son. And the bodies are piling up.
Sergeant Lessard is a complicated character. While he hasn’t touched a drink in years, the case is very frustrating and he fights the urge on a daily basis. His relationship with his girlfriend Nadja is very good but it is not without its problems. Especially when it comes to Lessard’s son Martin and Nadja’s brother.
I don’t really know how I feel about this book. On one hand it is a very good police procedural, but I didn’t care all that much for the primary character Lessard. The book delves into some interesting – and surprising – conspiracy theories. (Frankly, I was astounded.) The book is well written, but the whole side trip into Martin’s problem and Nadja’s brother issue was distracting and I couldn’t really see the point of it all.
I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn Press/Dundurn – Dundurn for forwarding to me a copy of this new author’s book for me to read, enjoy and review.
Martin Michaud has written a taut mystery that will have you guessing until the very end as to who is and why they are killing so many very important and connected people within the Montreal area.
Victor Lassard is a very complex character. Flawed and working hard to keep his demons at bay is an excellent and thought provoking detective sergeant with the Montreal Major Crimes Unit. Lassard and his partner Jacinthe Taillon, as well as the rest of the Major Crimes Unit are working a very difficult case. The Montreal Major Crimes Unit must figure out what if anything ties together a homeless man that’s committed suicide, a psychiatric researcher, a prominent lawyer, a psychiatrist and a Senator.
This story is full of twists and turns you never see coming and keeps you riveted until the very end. I loved this story and highly recommend as a must read.
Martin Michaud has written a thriller that will have the best of you trying to figure out what’s really happening and just when you think you’ve figured it out you haven’t, not until the author reveals the killer and the motive.