A widow’s quiet retirement in the foothills of the Alps is turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious stranger. Recently widowed grandmother Eliette is returning to her home in the mountains when her micro-car breaks down. A stranger comes to her aid on foot. Eliette offers him a lift, glad of the interruption to her humdrum routine. That night, her neighbours’ son is killed in a road accident. Could the tragedy be linked to the arrival of her good Samaritan? AUTHOR: Pascal Garnier was a leading figure in contemporary French literature. He lived in a small village in the Ardeche. He died in March 2010. SELLING POINTS:

John Banville and Ian Rankin are big fans

Like Garnier’s ‘Moon in a Dead Eye’, pokes fun at ‘dream’ retirements and appearance of calm domesticity

Intelligently written noir with a distinct French flavour: ‘Think Simenon and Patricia Highsmith mixed, with jokes added to the black brew’ (John Banville) REVIEWS: ‘A mixture of Albert Camus and JG Ballard’ - Financial Times ‘Bleak, often funny and never predictable’ - The Observer ‘A brilliant exercise in grim and gripping irony, it makes you grin as well as wince.’ - Sunday Telegraph