(reviewed by JD Jung)
“They’re going to lock me up. I’m the perfect fall girl. My fingerprints are everywhere, even on the knife that belongs to me, and I got blood all over me.”
Maybe another reason that this femme-fatale, who goes by the name of Memphis Charles, refused to go to the police is that she has a motive. But she’s determined to hire private investigator Eugène Tarpon to prove her innocence and to discover who slit her roommate’s throat. She even uses force to persuade this ex-gendarme. Events get even stranger as the victim’s brother requests Tarpon’s services for a nice sum of money.
Sounds pretty straight- forward. Right? Well, it’s anything but that. More bodies fall as Tarpon finds himself in dangerous situations where he can’t leave the case alone.
Like many PIs in literature, Tarpon has a bad reputation with law enforcement, an attitude problem, drinks too much, and needs the money but is picky with assignments. However, the protagonist is different from others in novels I have read by the late Jean-Patrick Manchette.
Still, certain elements are consistent with the author’s other work. As we go through this fascinating story from Tarpon’s perspective, it reminds me of what I enjoy reading from Manchette. He creates an intense, dark, and gritty story that is stylishly written and interspersed with dark humor. He includes his political and sociological views in not-so-subtle ways. Most of all, this story, as his others, will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.
Though originally published in 1973, No Room at the Morgue was just translated into English this year by NYRB Classics. Fans of Jean-Patrick Manchette and French noir are sure to enjoy this one.
