Starred review from August 15, 2016
At the start of YA author Marchetta’s stunning adult debut, Bashir “Bish” Ortley, a cop on suspension from London’s Metropolitan Police, travels to Calais, France, to see his teenage daughter after the bombing of her tour bus. Also among the survivors is 17-year-old Violette LeBrac Zidane, whose mother and grandfather allegedly conspired to blow up a British supermarket 13 years earlier. The authorities suspect the bomb on the bus was meant for Violette, but the public believes that she planted it. Either way, the Brits want Violette in their custody and out of France, so they task Bish with bringing her in. Violette runs, forcing Bish to work with the girl’s family in order to find her. Emotionally complex characters complement an intricate plot rife with dizzying twists and devastating reveals. This visceral read manages to capture the emotional aftermath of a mass tragedy while sustaining tension and delivering a scathing indictment of racial profiling, vigilante justice, and the 24-hour news cycle. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary.
A disgraced London police investigator chases a bombing case across parts of Western Europe in teen author Marchetta's adult fiction debut.Bish Ortley gets a phone call telling him that a tour bus full of British kids, including his daughter, Sabina, has been bombed in France. Not knowing the circumstances, he and his mother, Saffron, drive hurriedly across the channel to find that Sabina, known as Bee, is unhurt, and the area is teeming with French police, newly arriving parents, and injured and dead teenagers. Bish had been a chief inspector with London's Metropolitan Police before being suspended from the department after 25 years on the force. (We never find out why; perhaps Marchetta is saving that information for a sequel.) But he's soon pressed into service and asked to investigate the case because he's established a rapport with the families of the dead, injured, and traumatized kids. It doesn't help matters that Violette LeBrac Zidane, whose family was convicted of a notorious supermarket bombing 13 years earlier, was on the same bus and has now disappeared after surviving the blast without injury. Marchetta's smooth writing and flair for dialogue combine for a mostly seamless read, but the action runs in place for a long time while she sets up the bus bombing. With 16 characters in the first 15 pages alone, Marchetta paints a confusing picture of strange family dynamics and improbable investigative procedure against a backdrop of European racism. Many of the characters, including Bish and Saffron, are of Middle Eastern descent, and Marchetta is interested in exploring bigotry against those who have darker skin. But the hammered-home theme, coupled with a crowded roster of characters and oddly interspersed changes of viewpoints and tenses, serves only to make it hard to care about the outcome of the investigation. Convoluted and unsubtle. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
October 1, 2016
France is again in the headlines when a bus full of British teenagers is bombed. One of the teens on board is Sabina Bee Ortley, whose father has recently been suspended from the British police. Bish Ortley is having a terrible time dealing with his divorce and his job loss, but springs out of his depression and into action, helping hunt down the lead suspect, Violette LeBrac Zidane. Zidane is another teen on the bus, but comes from two generations of bombers, causing almost everyone to think she was responsible, but the police believe Violette may have been the target. The relationships between the teens, their parents, and the police help draw the reader in and make an emotional connection, while the novel moves between different points of view and delves into themes of prejudice and dysfunctional families, and has political overtones as well. This timely thriller is the popular young adult author Marchetta's adult debut; and while her fans will easily make the transition with her, she should gain some adult readers as well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
May 15, 2016
Marchetta, whose Jellicoe Road won the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, here turns to adult fiction. Suspended cop Bish Ortley rushes to the scene of a bus bombing to be with his injured daughter when he learns that the main suspect is a 17-year-old girl whose grandfather set off a suicide bomb 13 years earlier. With a 30,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 15, 2016
Recently suspended from the London police force for misconduct, Bish Ortley gets caught in the middle of a high-stakes investigation after a bus carrying his daughter is bombed in France. The primary suspect is Violet, the teenage granddaughter of a terrorist who set off a suicide bomb in a grocery store years ago, an explosive device that Violet's mother had built. Violet is on the run, and Bish must earn the trust of her friends and notorious mother to find her. Using any means necessary, Bish gets caught up in a wild twisty chase, while dealing with his own personal demons. He must decide, is she guilty or is the killer still out there? Australian YA author Marchetta, winner of the American Library Association's 2008 Michael L. Printz Award for Jellico Road, makes her adult fiction debut with an exciting literary thriller that is full of surprises. VERDICT Along with its well-rounded and likable characters, this is more than a crime story; it's jam-packed with family drama and heartbreak. Highly recommended for suspense and mystery fans. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]--Kristen Calvert Nelson, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Ocala, FL
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from September 15, 2016
Recently suspended from the London police force for misconduct, Bish Ortley gets caught in the middle of a high-stakes investigation after a bus carrying his daughter is bombed in France. The primary suspect is Violet, the teenage granddaughter of a terrorist who set off a suicide bomb in a grocery store years ago, an explosive device that Violet's mother had built. Violet is on the run, and Bish must earn the trust of her friends and notorious mother to find her. Using any means necessary, Bish gets caught up in a wild twisty chase, while dealing with his own personal demons. He must decide, is she guilty or is the killer still out there? Australian YA author Marchetta, winner of the American Library Association's 2008 Michael L. Printz Award for Jellico Road, makes her adult fiction debut with an exciting literary thriller that is full of surprises. VERDICT Along with its well-rounded and likable characters, this is more than a crime story; it's jam-packed with family drama and heartbreak. Highly recommended for suspense and mystery fans. [See Prepub Alert, 4/25/16.]--Kristen Calvert Nelson, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Ocala, FL
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 15, 2016
A disgraced London police investigator chases a bombing case across parts of Western Europe in teen author Marchettas adult fiction debut.Bish Ortley gets a phone call telling him that a tour bus full of British kids, including his daughter, Sabina, has been bombed in France. Not knowing the circumstances, he and his mother, Saffron, drive hurriedly across the channel to find that Sabina, known as Bee, is unhurt, and the area is teeming with French police, newly arriving parents, and injured and dead teenagers. Bish had been a chief inspector with London's Metropolitan Police before being suspended from the department after 25 years on the force. (We never find out why; perhaps Marchetta is saving that information for a sequel.) But hes soon pressed into service and asked to investigate the case because hes established a rapport with the families of the dead, injured, and traumatized kids. It doesnt help matters that Violette LeBrac Zidane, whose family was convicted of a notorious supermarket bombing 13 years earlier, was on the same bus and has now disappeared after surviving the blast without injury. Marchettas smooth writing and flair for dialogue combine for a mostly seamless read, but the action runs in place for a long time while she sets up the bus bombing. With 16 characters in the first 15 pages alone, Marchetta paints a confusing picture of strange family dynamics and improbable investigative procedure against a backdrop of European racism. Many of the characters, including Bish and Saffron, are of Middle Eastern descent, and Marchetta is interested in exploring bigotry against those who have darker skin. But the hammered-home theme, coupled with a crowded roster of characters and oddly interspersed changes of viewpoints and tenses, serves only to make it hard to care about the outcome of the investigation. Convoluted and unsubtle.
COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
June 29, 2016
Outside Calais, a bomb tears apart a bus full of international teenage students. The uninjured include British ex-Chief Inspector Bish Ortley’s daughter Bee and 17-year-old Violette Zidane, the youngest member of a family involved in a horrific bombing 13 years earlier, where Bish played a devastating part in the investigation. Before Violette can be arrested—or cleared—she runs away, with another student in tow. While those in London and Calais use the bombing as an excuse to light a fire under racial tensions, Bish, despite being suspended from the force, is the one tasked to find her, realising along the way that his belief in the family’s guilt may be wearing thin. Melina Marchetta doesn’t shy away from the authentic emotions of her characters, her writing capturing their joy and pain as they navigate this crime through the veil of Europe’s simmering anti-Muslim sentiments. Bish’s investigative skills, more brains than brute force, showcase Marchetta’s own talent in writing an electrifying contemporary detective thriller. This is a clear-sighted adult-fiction debut for fans of Robert Galbraith and Marchetta herself, and is likely to be devoured by older YA readers as well.
Fiona Hardy is a bookseller, reviewer, writer and 2016 Text Prize finalist