Goat Song: Murder and Mayhem in Montmartre

By Chantal Pelletier

"Pelletier is a wonderful storyteller. She is a master of funny, bittersweet dialogue. A classic roman noir hero, the world weary inspector, is completely reinvented."-- Le Monde The naked bodies of a male dancer and a young girl are found entwined backstage in the Moulin Rouge. A junkie is killed, his throat chewed open, the teeth marks human. Seemingly unconnected, these deaths form a sinister pattern involving crack dealers and shady property deals. Inspector Maurice Less is plagued by a female boss who bombards him with tales of her sexual exploits. Together they uncover a trail of fear and broken dreams that reaches from Corsica into the heart of Paris. Winner of the Grand Prix du Roman Noir de Cognac.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1904738036
• ISBN13: 9781904738039
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

strong amusing yet as often gloomy French police procedural

In Montmarte, a double murder occurs in the Moulin Rouge. Gloom and doom French Inspector Maurice "More is Less" Laice and his superior Aline Lefèvre, a positive thinking active lesbian who at times lets her other "head" do her thinking, lead the investigation. The crime scene produces nothing. Thus the two cops turn to the victims seeking who might have a motive to kill the duo. Lead dancer Manfred and Lisa the trainee are the victims; the culprit intermingled their corpses in some sort of macabre dance. However, outside of the Moulin Rouge, the victims seem to have little in common as Manfred is a purebred native and Lisa is a Corsican emigrant. The case goes nowhere sending the pessimistic Maurice deeper into depression while Aline tells him to find solace in orgasms. Still the two cops argue about life, but keep digging within the Moulin Rouge community and the growing Corsican immigrants flocking to the city. The key to this strong often amusing and as often gloomy French police procedural is the two cops, as opposite of a pair that readers will ever find. Laice is a fortyish person who at times acts like an ailing octogenarian who no longer can get it up while the promiscuous Aline lives for multiple orgasms with her female partners. At times the depth into the lead couple is so deep and powerful the murder mystery takes a back seat even with the fast-pacing of the plot that like the stars contrast between the upbeat and the downbeat. Harriet Klausner