Wealthy and privileged, Alex has an easy path to success in the Parisian elite. But he and his domineering father have never seen eye to eye. Desperate to escape the increasingly suffocating atmosphere of their apartment, Alex seeks freedom on the streets of Paris where his new-found friend Sami teaches him how to survive. But everything has a price – and one night of rebellion changes their lives forever.
A simple plan to steal money takes a sinister turn when Alex’s father is found dead. Despite protesting their innocence, both boys are imprisoned for murder. Seven years later Alex is released from prison with a single purpose: to discover who really killed his father. Yet as he searches for answers and atones for the sins of his past, Alex uncovers a disturbing truth with far-reaching consequences.
In the heart of Paris, against a backdrop of corruption, fake news and civil unrest, The Messenger is a mind-racing new thriller that follows one son’s journey to find redemption and expose the truth.
Megan Davis was born in Australia and grew up in mining towns across the world. She 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 and is currently an associate at Spotlight on Corruption. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Her debut The Messenger won the Bridport Prize for a First Novel in 2018, judged by Kamila Shamsie, as well as the Lucy Cavendish Prize for unpublished writers in 2021. She has lived in many places, including France for a number of years, but now lives in London.
My thoughts: Alex was convicted of a serious crime but he knows he’s innocent, and now he’s out of prison he wants to prove it. His journalist father was working on something big but no one wants to tell him anything and one of his dad’s friends supposedly committed suicide too.
As he digs into his dad’s last story, he’s threatened and beaten up. He and old school friend Lisa get trapped in a riot, tensions are running very high in Paris. Could it be connected?
Clever and twisting, this is an intelligent and complex thriller with interesting things to say about the world we live in and how we can resist the manipulation of society and stand up for what we believe in. Inspired in part by real cases of undercover operatives and planted articles, this is an impressive and well written debut. I expect we’ll see more good writing from Megan Davis.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 