Discover the taut political thrillers of Jean-Patrick Manchette
Unlike today’s noir fiction, his books waste no time on psychology
“IN THE WEST the economy was not working well, mental illness was rife, and social classes were still locked in struggle.” This familiar diagnosis comes from “Three to Kill”, a French noir novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette, published in 1976. As he wrote, far-left terrorists in Europe were bombing and kidnapping their way towards revolution. He turned this unrest into a series of politically engaged pulp fictions as smooth as a well-oiled revolver.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Assassin’s creed”
Culture September 5th 2020
From the September 5th 2020 edition
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