Syndrome E: A Novel [Hardcover]

Franck Thilliez (Author), Mark Polizzotti (Translator)

Book Description

Release date: August 16, 2012

The??classic procedural meets cutting edge science in this huge international bestseller

Already a runaway bestseller in France, Syndrome E tells the story of beleaguered detective Lucie Hennebelle, whose old friend has developed a case of spontaneous blindness after watching an extremely rare—and violent—film from the 1950s. Embedded in the film are subliminal images so unspeakably heinous that Lucie realizes she must get to the bottom of it—especially when nearly everyone who comes into contact with the film starts turning up dead.

Enlisting the help of Inspector Franck Sharko—a brooding, broken analyst for the Paris police who is exploring the film’s connection to five murdered men left in the woods, Lucie begins to strip away the layers of what is perhaps the most disturbing and powerful film ever made. Soon Sharko and Lucie find themselves mired in a darkness that spreads across politics, religion, science, and art while stretching from France to Canada, Egypt to Rwanda, and beyond. And just who is responsible for this darkness will blow readers minds, as Syndrome E forces them to consider: what if the earliest and most brilliant advances and discoveries of neuroscience were not used for good—but for evil.

With this taut U.S. debut, Thilliez explores the origins of violence through cutting-edge and popular science in a breakneck thriller rich with shocking plot twists and profound questions about the nature of humanity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Blending science and neurology into the intrigue of his excellent thriller, Thilliez takes us into the maze of the human brain, with all the evils it can unleash.'' --Elle (Paris)

''A tour de force . . . A captivating plot that keeps the reader in his seat until the final moments.'' --Le Monde Magazine

''Franck Thilliez leads his story like a beating drum, multiplying the reverberations without ever losing track of the psychological development of his characters . . . A reflection on the origins of violence that is as playful as it is erudite. Essential reading!'' --Metro (Paris)

''With a fascinating blend of noir procedural, espionage flavor, and an eerie set up that makes the video from The Ring seem harmless, it is no surprise that Syndrome E has already been an international sensation. Beneath its dazzling, byzantine plot are menacing questions of what lurks at the intersection between the new and chilling capabilities of neuroscience and the ancient but more-chilling capabilities of human evil.'' --Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

About the Author

Franck Thilliez  is the author of several bestselling novels in his native France. This is his first novel to be translated into English in the United States. He lives in Paris.

Mark Polizzotti is the translator of more than thirty books from the French. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal  and The Nation. He lives in New York City.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First edition (August 16, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067002578X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670025787
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Intense and scary with compelling, complicated characters August 16, 2012

By Linda

Format:Hardcover

This book has been on my radar since it was optioned for film several months ago, and the ironic thing is, now that I've read it, it's become obvious that the film version will probably be too gory for me to see. Think sawed-off skulls, gouged-out eyes and oh, throw in some animal torture. But hey, in book form, that stuff isn't too bad. Much like "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", this European mystery thriller is an intense and scary page-turner, but its highlight lies in the two compelling, broken detectives on the case.

Lucie Hennebelle is a single mother of two girls who has clearly lost too much in her young life, due in large part to her dangerous job. And yet, for sometimes incomprehensible reasons, she simply loves her work, and would rather spend time poring over evidence and solving mysteries than spend time at the hospital with one sick daughter while the other is sent off to camp. The drive Lucie has for her work is an obsession, almost a sickness, so it's probably not surprising she's drawn immediately to Franck Sharko, the chief Inspector who literally is sick as a result of his work. He's schizophrenic, a bit OCD, and has nothing left in his life outside of his work, until he meets Lucie. The bond they form - though fast - is believable and tender and almost a relief as more details from both of their tragic pasts are revealed. No one deserves a bit of happiness and security more than these two.

As for the mystery itself, it engages the reader from the very beginning as a friend of Lucie's goes inexplicably blind after viewing the mysterious film, and it's all downhill from there as others who come into contact with the reel meet much worse fates. Beyond just a simple murder mystery, the ideas surrounding the case are widespread and draw in various facets of study: film (obviously), neuroscience, politics, war, and Thilliez even manages to tie in real historical events. The manhunt also expands globally in a refreshing fashion, with Lucie and Sharko traveling everywhere from France to Belgium to Egypt to Canada, though there are some horror cliches, such as characters dying just as they get a bit too close to the truth, and a shocking "AH-HA!" moment reveal of who the killer is.

One final footnote: This novel is apparently the convergence of two series that Thilliez has written in French about Lucie and Sharko, respectively, though the two are meeting for the first time in "Syndrome E." Because those books are similar in tone and scope, yet I never read the books themselves, it did come off a bit overly dramatic as Lucie and Sharko confided in each other about their pasts. It's kind of amusing to think about how much fictional characters go through over their lives when it's told not over several books but in just a few short paragraphs. On that note, Penguin USA, we must talk about when Thilliez's next two novels about Lucie and Sharko are going to be translated into English because I'm dying over that cliffhanger!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars !!!!! August 22, 2012

By Frederi© Fontes

Format:Hardcover

In each of his books, Franck Thilliez try to find some new challenges, to amaze his readers. He
vulgarize some big facts of science, that why i love his books. He captive his reader, give them some knowledge & take them where he want.
Syndrome E present two charismatics characters, a great haunted couple !
It's a great opportunity for the americans readers to discover one of the best thriller writer from France.
Mark Polizzotti did a great job in the translation.
(Sorry for my bad english :p)
F

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "This film is the work of a genius and a psychopath." August 18, 2012

By E. Bukowsky HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Franck Thilliez's "Syndrome E" opens in Liège, Belgium. A young man, Luc Szpilman, is selling old films that belonged to his late father. After spotting Luc's classified advertisement, an avid and knowledgeable collector named Ludovic Sénéchal hopes to pick up some valuable items at a bargain price. What Ludovic does not realize is that one of the films he is about to purchase has a dark and forbidding history. After viewing it and experiencing an alarming reaction, Ludovic contacts an ex-flame for help, thirty-seven year old Lieutenant Lucie Henebelle of the Lille CID.

Meanwhile, in Paris, Chief Inspector Franck Sharko works under Martin Leclerc, head of the Violent Crimes Unit. Sharko knows nothing of old films and has never met Lucie. In fact, he is lucky to have a job at all, since he suffers from a form of mental illness that includes troubling auditory and visual hallucinations. (His psychiatrist treats him with drugs and electrical brain stimulation.) Leclerc, Franck's close friend as well as his boss, stands behind his subordinate, who manages to function in spite of his problems. Martin assigns Sharko to look into a grisly discovery of five mutilated bodies buried six feet underground near a construction site in Normandy.

Sharko and Lucie eventually meet when their cases converge. They are an interesting pair: Lucie, the single mother of eight-year-old twins, is "a driven, punctilious woman, according to her supervisors, but with an increasing tendency to go off the rails." Sharko, fifteen years Lucie's senior, is a lonely and guilt-ridden widower with a tragic past, "a man at the edge of a cliff." Like Lucie, he is a tenacious, intuitive, and tireless investigator. The two join forces to track down a mastermind who has done horrific damage to innocent people. Before long, Lucie and Sharko are drawn to one another; each recognizes a kindred spirit who understands what it is like to suffer emotional pain.

"Syndrome E" is a spellbinding, grisly, and frightening thriller, brilliantly translated by Mark Polizzotti. Thilliez constructs his multilayered story with meticulous care. His dialogue and descriptive writing are exceptional, and he portrays detective work with remarkable authenticity. The author provides us with enlightening facts and opinions about the relationship between cinema, violent imagery, the eye, and the brain. The novel's wide-ranging themes include the excesses of covert intelligence agencies, the origins of genocide, and the ways in which groundbreaking scientific discoveries can be used to aid humanity or, conversely, to commit heinous crimes. We grow to admire Franck and Lucie as they relentlessly track down clues in Egypt, Canada, Belgium, and France; interview dozens of witnesses; dig into archives; and ultimately, risk their lives to expose a monstrous conspiracy.