If the suspense book "The Truth about the Harry Quertice Affair" had made us addicted to Joel Dicker's style, we were delighted to learn that it would soon be adapted in series (with Patrick Dempsey in the casting that embodies Harry Québert) but we were also waiting impatiently for his new book ... It's now done! The Swiss writer has announced the release of his fourth novel, scheduled for March 7, 2018. You are told more about "The disappearance of Stephanie Mailer" that will prevent you from sleeping ...
- The style Joel Dicker at the rendezvous
If his first novel is moving away from his dough, the last three ("The truth about the case Harry Québert", "The book of Baltimore" and "The disappearance of Stéphanie Mailer") come together in the same style. We are located in the United States on the east coast, in a small city not far from New York, and the inhabitants of the city will be confronted with a past history which reflects to lead to a police investigation and a survey carried out by the inhabitants themselves. Fates and different worlds will cross, some stories will be parallel all along to meet at the end, and finally we will discover the outcome. A style unique to the Swiss author of 32 years we love and makes us dependent on his writings.
"The disappearance of Stéphanie Mailer" is totally faithful to that. The summary ? The story takes place on July 30, 1994 in Oprhea, a small quiet seaside resort in New York State where a news item has just been taken: the mayor of the city and his family are found murdered at home, as well as a passerby who witnessed the murders. The investigation, entrusted to the state police, is led by a duo of ambitious young police who will find the culprit. But twenty years later, in early summer 2014, a journalist named Stephanie Mailer told one of the police that he was mistaken murderer, before disappearing in turn ...
- We still plunge into the world of small towns around New York
If Joel Dicker tells stories in cities around New York, it's simply because he's been there many times throughout his life, his cousins having a home in Maine. During the writing of his novels, the author knows the place so much, that he appeals to his feelings and to his emotions lived in these streets, that he transcribes to perfection. In "The disappearance of Stéphanie Mailer", one finds oneself in Orphéa, a city of the Hamptons, when in "The truth about the affair Harry Québert" one was located in New Hampshire and in "The book of Baltimore", one was immersed in New Jersey. The United States as if we were there ...
- "The disappearance of Stéphanie Mailer" close to "The truth about the case Harry Québert"
Joel Dicker's first big hit, "The Truth about the Harry Quentin Affair", remains the darling book for fans. "The disappearance of Stéphanie Mailer" is close to it, since it is again a hectic investigation in which we never suspect the murderer. "The Baltimore Book" was moving away from the police investigation, being more a book about appearances, telling the story of the Goldman family members, whose life choices each led them to two opposite directions. One thus revives the stupor and the suspense of the first success of the writer.
- The character of Marcus Goldman is not there
If Joel Dicker likes to bet on the emotions and the history of his characters, more than to describe their physics, he narrated twice episodes of the life of Marcus Goldman. In "The disappearance of Stéphanie Mailer", the favorite character does not seem there, but maybe it will come back in a next book ... In the meantime, we can find Marcus Goldman in adapted series of the book, realized by Jean-Jacques Annaud.
- Many more characters than in his other books
The author has the habit of crossing destinies, united by the same story lived from different points of view. Great difference with the previous novels: in "The disappearance of Stéphanie Mailer", the characters are found in very large numbers, so that one counts almost twenty. Rest assured, we do not forget any and we identify them very quickly. Some are intriguing, others touching, while others are totally mysterious, to the end ...
- Until the last page, we do not suspect the murderer
Throughout the crime novel, you will think of three characters likely to be the murderer. But you will be wrong, because you will never be able to guess the culprit!