Publication Date: August 1, 2023
A stylish, mind-racing literary thriller set in the dark heart of Paris, by a break-out new talent in crime fiction.
After moving back to Paris to live with his French dad, Alex Giraud is struggling to fit in among the kids of the rich elite at his exclusive school and he feels stifled by the expectations of his overbearing father. Eddy Giraud used to be one of the most fearless journalists in Paris, but his professional and personal disappointments have made him a cynical, opportunistic man who has little patience for his son’s lack of ambition.
Desperate to escape the increasingly suffocating atmosphere at home, Alex seeks freedom in the French metropolis where his new-found friend Sami teaches him the rules of the street. But everything has a price—and one night of rebellion changes their lives forever. A simple plan for a robbery takes a sinister turn when Alex’s father is found dead.
Despite protesting their innocence, Alex and Sami are imprisoned for murder. Seven years later, Alex is released from prison with a single purpose: discover who really killed his father.
As he searches for answers, Alex is tormented by his sense of guilt for his father (and for Sami) and, as he begins to uncover the truth about his father’s killer, other shocking revelations with far-reaching consequences come to light. Will Alex be able to survive his own personal demons and, after all this time, bring the murderer to justice?
After spending seven years in a French prison, Alex Giraud has only one thing on his mind. He wants to uncover who really killed his journalist father, the crime for which he and a friend had been found guilty.
Alternating between present and past, with Alex serving as a first-person narrator, author Megan Davis sets the stage for The Messenger. The writing is high quality, with each word carefully chosen for maximum impact. Alex maintains that although his father was apparently injured as a result of an altercation with Alex’s friend, Sami, someone else killed him.
The character development provides an exceptional mental image for readers. The overbearing, critical father. The son trying to fit into a new life in Paris with his divorced father. The people along the periphery who all have fragments of what Alex hopes will point to the actual killer.
Along the way, he encounters some unexpected secrets that alter his perception of his own identity. While it is a relatively slow-burning plot, it builds enough momentum for a satisfying conclusion.
The Messenger packages intrigue and danger into a literary thriller showcasing a young man’s search for truth amid a backdrop of contemporary Paris.
Megan Davis has worked in the film industry and her credits include Atonement, In Bruges, Pride and Prejudice, and the Bourne films. Megan is also a lawyer at Spotlight on Corruption. Her debut The Messenger, won the Bridport Prize for a first unpublished novel, judged by Kamila Shamsie, as well as the Lucy Cavendish Prize. She has lived in many places, including France, but now lives in London.
