A lawyer in France presents herself to handle the usual
type of case - poor communication between a man and a woman
having led to an accusation of violence. Returning to her
office, Catherine Monsigny is asked to look more deeply
into the issue of a woman accused of killing her husband.
It's the first serious crime she has handled, and THE PARIS
LAWYER is keen.
Catherine has occasional flashes of memory of herself as a
child in a stroller, on the day that her mother took her
out for a walk and was beaten to death. Her father has
walled off that part of their lives. In the current felony
case, an illegal immigrant woman from Gabon was treated as
a slave by a family, but escaped them and married a wealthy
older man. Six years later he died and his family,
outraged by the widow's intention to sell the rural estate,
accused her of poisoning him by adding cyanide to the
curries she cooked. Cyanide was then found in the body.
Catherine experiences the change from city to country life
as she visits the accused, with basic facilities and local
foods. Returning to her Paris work, she takes pride in
getting a client off on a procedural technicality; but the
rural case won't be so easy and what's more, she has
suspicions that not one but two murders are involved.
The European legal court system is different from the
British and American system. There are no juries and the
judge trying the case has the power to order
investigations. I also noted that this lawyer spends a lot
of her time defending a Tunisian pickpocket or a Moroccan
thief instead of the expected French clients.
This is written in present tense and translated from the
French by Anne Trager. Some Americanisms such as gotten
have been included but some nuances must have been lost -
"There are never any papers on the boss' desk because the
mind of a great man contains all the information it needs."
This may have originally been an amusing comment on the
boss' pompous attitude but we don't get enough information
to decide. Catherine also comes across as masculine,
thinking establish dominance from the start, impose a
power struggle and stainless steel morale. Sylvie
Granotier is a pen name and THE PARIS LAWYER was written by
Albin Michel, a complex tale of a woman facing unpleasant
truths.
As a child, Catherine Monsigny was the only witness to a
heinous crime. Now, she is an ambitious rookie attorney in
sophisticated modern-day Paris. On the side, she does pro
bono work and hits the jackpot: a major felony case that
could boost her career. A black woman is accused of
poisoning her rich farmer husband in a peaceful village in
central France, where the beautiful, rolling hills hold dark
secrets. While preparing the case, Catherine’s own past
comes back with a vengeance. This fast- paced story follows
Catherine’s determined search for the truth in both her case
and her own life. Who can she believe? And can you ever
escape from your past? The story twists and turns, combining
subtle psychological insight with a detailed sense of place.
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