Thank you to Eva @ Novel Deelights for suggesting we buddy reading this book; I’m so glad it wasn’t left unread on my shelf because it contains the greatest act of deception I have ever read about in a true crime book!
ON THE SATURDAY MORNING OF JANUARY 9, 1993, WHILE JEAN CLAUDE ROMAND WAS KILLING HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN, I WAS WITH MINE IN A PARENT-TEACHER MEETING…
With these chilling first words, acclaimed master of psychological suspense, Emmanuel Carrère, begins his exploration of the double life of a respectable doctor, eighteen years of lies, five murders, and the extremes to which ordinary people can go.
The case of Jean-Claude Romand is one I hadn’t heard of before, so everything I learned in this book was new information to me. Romand was a narcissistic liar, who deceived everyone for eighteen years before committing murder.
This is nonfiction, but it almost suspends belief – I was so engrossed in this read, when you read about the life of Romand, you’ll understand why. I’m purposely not telling you exactly what all the lies were because I think it’s a much more powerful read if you discover them while reading the book. If this was fiction, I’d have described this plot as “lacking in believability” – but here, it was fascinating. Don’t mistake my fascination to mean I’m raising Romand to celebrity status, it’s more a case of, even after finishing this book, I just keep think back over all the deceit, trying to understand how it was possible, surely no one is that skilled in the art of deception. I was racking my brain trying to understand how Romand wasn’t caught out in all his lies; and we’re not talking about little lies, we’re taking about MAJOR lies – the phrase “you sit on a throne of lies” was invented for this man!
I really liked the narrative voice adopted by Carrère, he writes that he was drawn to this case due to a desire to know what went on in Romand’s head during those years of deception, how was he spending his days while pretending to the world he was at work, for example. He didn’t want to conduct an investigation; Romand’s guilt/innocence is not up for debate; and as disturbed as the author was by this case, he knew that contacting Romand was the only way to get answers. I suppose, I really liked the way Carrère chose to write this book because I, too, wanted to know what was going on in Romand’s head.
At under 200 pages, this is a quick read that I recommend to fans of true crime.
This book is available to buy from: Amazon UK / Book Depository
Wasn’t it you who suggested it? 🤣
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Me, you, us, we, potato, patato 🤷🏾♀️😂🤣
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S T O P posting so many good reviews. My Faves of the Week is overrun by Janel! I’m glad you liked this one, I loved it! 😀
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😁 Best comment ever!! I shall make it my mission to feature every week 😉😂
I just cannot believe how no one figured Romand out! Shocking, just shocking 😳
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I know! It was insane what he got away with!
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Another terrific review Janel and another book added to the list!
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Thanks Kerrie! I’m really enjoying non-fiction atm 😊
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I can see!
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Intriguing!
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It’s a quick read, defo recommend 🙂
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This sounds fantastic! I actually got a copy of this ages ago and haven’t gotten around to it, but the way you describe it so well is making me want to bump it up my to-read list! It sounds like it has a really interesting style to it too. Excellent review!
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It’s 200 pages and reads really quick, so it wouldn’t disrupt your tbr, too much, to move it up the list 😉
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Great review! This sounds so interesting!
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Thank you! It’s a quick read, defo worth it!
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I added it to the list!
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Another one added to my TBR pile after reading your fab review 🙈
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Mission accomplished 😆
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Wow! This book sounds amazing. Adding it my TBR right now!
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It’s a quick and shocking read. I hope you enjoy it 😊
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