The Awkward Squad: Volume 1

Sophie Hénaff

Apr 2018 · MacLehose Press

About this ebook

Officer Anne Capestan's team of misfits will have to work together to investigate a decades-old unsolved murder . . . and in the process uncover a trail of corruption that leads to the top of the Paris police force.

"Marvelous . . . An absorbing, sometimes laugh-out-loud mystery." --New York Journal of Book

"A delightful creation." --The Times

"Quirky and interesting . . . Much to savor." --Library Journal

Was the old lady murdered seven years ago really just the victim of a botched robbery? Who was behind the dead sailor discovered in the Seine with three gunshot wounds? And why does there seem to be a curious link with a ferry that was shipwrecked off the Florida coast many years previously?

Suspended from her job as a promising police officer for firing "one bullet too many," Anne Capestan is expecting the worst when she is summoned to HQ to learn her fate. Instead, she is told that she will head up a new police squad, working on solving long-abandoned cold cases.

Though relieved to still have a job, Capestan is not overjoyed by the prospect of her new role--and even less so when she meets her new team: a crowd of misfits, troublemakers, and problem cases, none of whom are fit for purpose and yet none of whom can be fired.

Ratings and reviews

A police procedural where the police don't exactly follow procedure. The Awkward Squad is formed to keep a group of misfits out of sight and out of mind, but these misfits certainly don't stay there. This crime mystery is well-written and fast-paced from beginning to end. So often, books in this genre tend to lag a bit in the middle, but that is not the case here. Each character has a different story - a different reason for being assigned to this squad of misfits. Of course, there is some butting of heads within the group, but whether it's because of their differences or in spite of them, they're all interesting and the banter between them is witty and often chuckle worthy. The pacing and story line keep the pages turning and I hope to see more of this quirky bunch of crime fighters.

About the author

Sophie Hénaff is a journalist, author, and former Lyonnaise bar owner. She began her journalism career as a critic at Lyon Poche, before moving to Paris to write for Cosmopolitan, where she established her own humorous column, "La Cosmolite." The Awkward Squad was first published as Poulets grillés in 2015, and is her first novel.