Franck Thilliez writes thrillers. And he sells a lot of them since he is one of the most widely read authors in France (eight million copies sold, no less). His last opus, Labyrinths, once again worth the detour. In this author born in Annecy in 1973, there are three main trends. First of all the backbone of his work, with Franck Sharko and Lucie Hennebelle who carry out police investigations (more and more as a couple over the years). Then, the rather horrifying “one shot” stories, like the Ring of Moebius, Puzzle or Vertigo. And, since 2018, there’s a new arc revolving around Caleb Traskman, a sick novelist who writes novels about novelists who write novels. Mazes is the third part of this new series. In reality, it’s not really a sequel, it’s a new point of view, which sheds light on events mostly overlooked in previous volumes.
So, yes, we can read Mazes without knowing the previous stories, because the narrative construction deserves it… but it will still be much more satisfying for those who have read the first two parts: Thilliez finally gives the keys to the puzzles left unresolved (enthusiast blogs offered hypotheses since four years). We learn more about Julie, the Arles woman her father was looking for in Twice Upon a Time or on Caleb Traskman, the author of the fictional novel told in the unfinished manuscript.
What are you talking about Mazes ? It’s a complex story, with a deliberately deconstructed narrative and a totally distorted notion of time to deceive the reader. Basically, a victim with a stoned face is found in a cabin and the suspect has amnesia. In charge of the investigation, Camille Nijinski will try to find out more from a psychiatrist who collected the incredible testimony of the suspect before she lost her memory. Franck Thilliez uses all possible ingredients to create an unhealthy atmosphere: madness, snuffs movies, identity theft, confinement, psychological torture, abandoned chalets… In short, the characters are abused and the atmosphere is heavy as one might wish.
If we think several times that he does too much, we still find ourselves, over the course of reading, gripping the book a little tighter and turning the pages much faster. As in good thrillers, the suspense is there and at the end we say to ourselves “all the same, it’s well done”. Franck Thilliez does things with talent and finally completes all the stories in his series.
It may not be reference literature (though) but it’s rare to find novels with such a complex and controlled construction: Labyrinths, as its name suggests, is a long puzzle of 384 pages.