Black Water Lilies
'A dazzling, unexpected and haunting masterpiece' Daily Mail
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4.2 • 18 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
'Ends with one of the most reverberating shocks in modern crime fiction' The Sunday Times
'A dazzling, unexpected and haunting masterpiece' Daily Mail
'A work of genius... Stunning' Daily Express
Jérôme Morval has been found dead in the stream that runs through the gardens at Giverny, where Monet did his famous paintings.
In Jérôme's pocket is a postcard of Monet's 'Water Lilies' with the words: Eleven years old. Happy Birthday.
Entangled in the mystery are three women: a young painting prodigy, the seductive village schoolteacher and an old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream.
All three of them share a secret.
But what do they know about Jérôme's death?
And what is the connection to the mysterious 'Black Water Lilies', a rumoured masterpiece by Monet that has never been found?
MICHEL BUSSI: THE MASTER OF THE KILLER TWIST
''A novel so extraordinary that it reminded me of reading Stieg Larsson for the very first time'
The Sunday Times on After the Crash
'Inventive, original and incredibly entertaining'
Sunday Mirror on Don't Let Go
'Combines an extraordinarily inventive plot with characters haunted by long-ago events - and demonstrates why he has such a hold on readers'
The Times on Time Is A Killer
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Black Water Lilies is an excellent cosy mystery, written with creative flair and a charming sense of humour. Set in the small French village of Giverny—home of impressionist painter Claude Monet—the story starts with a bloody corpse and spirals from there in a series of entertaining, attention-grabbing vignettes. We observe the investigation from multiple perspectives: a crotchety old woman, a boisterous police inspector, a precocious 11-year-old and a beautiful, devious teacher. French author Michel Bussi is our new best friend. This book is beautiful, smart and so much fun.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A gruesome murder shatters the peace in Claude Monet's picturesque hometown of Giverny in this stylish if unsubtle graphic novel adaptation of Bussi's crime novel. An elderly widow, a married schoolteacher, and a tween girl are all keeping secrets tied to the murder of a wealthy local man, which is being investigated by a pair of handsome, wisecracking policemen. The clever twist the mystery hinges on successfully translates from prose to comics, but the shallow characterizations of the trio at the center of the case ("the first was wicked, the second was a liar, and the third was selfish") prove less effective. Fanette, nearly 11 years old, loves to paint, but her inner turmoil revolves around two boys in love with her and the father she's never met. Femme-fatale Stéphanie's character design borders on pin-up—her Monet-like floral patterned dresses cling to exaggerated curves. And the elderly widow, who serves as the story's unseen narrator, harbors cruel intentions. The comics are sharply drawn and colored beautifully to pay homage to Monet's springtime palette, which sets an effective mood. Regrettably, this page-turner speeds past the women ostensibly at its center.
