‘A Long Night in Paris’ by Dov Alfon

This is a big chunky, contemporary thriller by a Paris-based Israeli journalist that has been translated from Hebrew by Daniella Zamir. It races along in 121 short, tightly written chapters which switch perspectives and kept me hooked pretty effectively through to the end.

The start is very clever. A young man who is planning to attend a tech conference arrives from Israel at the Charles De Gaulle airport and is met after emerging from passport, immigration and customs control by a young woman wearing a bright red dress which is some kind of hotel uniform. CCTV records them meeting and greeting one another and they then get into a lift. But it does not record them getting out in the car park. They have apparently disappeared.

There is a similar set up later when a different man checks into a hotel room. CCTV records him getting his key-pass, getting in and out of a lift and entering his bedroom. He then disappears. The room is found to be empty but there is no CCTV showing him leaving the room.

These episodes are just two in a pretty complex story that is gradually untangled by the various protagonists and which unfolds over a twenty-four hour period. In the mean time a lot of bodies pile up in a manner not so different to the final fifth of a typical James Bond film.

The story is immensely complex, and you need to concentrate pretty hard to ensure that you don’t miss one of the innumerable little plot twists and reveals that occur regularly as the narrative proceeds.

The complexity arises because we have here the French police, two (really in effect as it turms out three) teams of Israeli intelligence agents, a criminal gang linked to casino operators in Macau and another Chinese team who are all involved and are competing with one another. It is all quite bizarre but a lot of fun. The story features two blond wigs, a toy gun, an amazing private plane and loads of cock-ups that serve to mask what is really going on. There are some highly entertaining set pieces too.

Not though a book to read if you are looking to empathise with any characters. They are all pretty sketchily drawn and unpleasant.