Review of NEVER FORGET by Martin Michaud

 3 Stars

I think I just finished my first Quebec noir novel. 

Set in Montreal, the book opens with the kidnapping, torture, and killing of Judith Harper, a psychiatric researcher.  Then there’s the delivery of a cryptic, threatening note to a prominent lawyer, Nathan Lawson, who goes into hiding after reading it.  And then André Lortie, a homeless man in possession of both Harper and Lawson’s wallets, commits suicide.  And that’s just the beginning of the body count.  Victor Lessard and his partner Jacinthe Taillon lead the investigation which has them looking into events which took place fifty years earlier, in the 1960s. 

Though this is the first Victor Lessard novel translated into English, I subsequently learned that it is actually the third book in the series.  Why do publishers do this??!!  There are repeated references to Lessard’s backstory and another important case that left the detective scarred.  I assume this information and case are the focus of the previous two books. 

Victor is middle-aged, a divorced father of two.  Barely hanging on to sobriety, he suffers from anxiety and depression and fits of rage.  He is described as “tortured, surly, and stubborn.”  He is romantically involved with Nadja, a police officer twelve years his junior.  In some ways, he reminds me of Harry Hole in the series by Jo Nesbø. 

Victor’s traumatic family history, intelligence, and determination make him a sympathetic character, but his partner Jacinthe has virtually no appealing qualities.  She is insensitive and totally tactless.  She is crude, mouthy, and belligerent, and a poster child for police brutality.  She is also a caricature of the doughnut-loving cop because she is food obsessed.  Her main skill is her ability to drive through Montreal’s snow-covered roads.  I did find the repeated references to her eating to be annoying and the many descriptions of her large size to be distasteful. 

The plot is very complex with a lot of storylines and characters.  It is easy to get lost because characters are sometimes identified by first name, sometimes by surname, sometimes by nickname, and sometimes by job title.  At over 500 pages, the book could use some editing; certainly, the subplot involving Victor’s son is rather tangential.  The pace is fast with lots of action, but the ending is somewhat unsatisfying because it relies on a conspiracy theory and involves a long-winded confession. 

Interspersed throughout are short references to key moments in Quebec history (FLQ October crisis, 1980 referendum) when the province was struggling with its identity.  There is supposed to be a connection to a character who is also searching for a sense of self, but I found it a bit of a stretch.  What also irked me is that, though there are French-Canadian characters, there is no French dialogue.  If it were not for the local colour, the reader might think the novel was set in any city.  Apparently, the French title of the book is Je me souviens, the official motto of Quebec.  That phrase has much more meaning in French so much is lost in translation.

I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the book; it’s just that I would have preferred a more amenable partner for Victor, a judicious editing of unnecessary plot elements, and some use of the French language.  The use of a conspiracy theory as a linchpin to the murders really bothered me.