In the unremarkable French town of Saint-Louis, a mysterious stranger stalks the streets; an elderly woman believes her son is planning to do away with her; a prominent manufacturer drops dead. Between visits to the town's bars, Chief Inspector Georges Gorski mulls over the connections, if any, between these events, while all the time grappling with his own domestic and existential demons.
Graeme Macrae Burnet pierces the respectable bourgeois façade of small-town life in this deeply human story. He draws a wry humour from the tiniest of details and delves into the darkest recesses of his characters' minds to present a fascinating puzzle that blurs the boundaries between suspect, investigator and reader in an entertaining, profound and moving novel.
Graeme Macrae Burnet was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and now lives in Glasgow. His Bloody Project, his second novel, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016, won the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award 2016, and was shortlisted for the LA Times Book Awards 2017. His fourth novel, Case Study, was longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 and was included in the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2022. A Case of Matricide is his fifth novel, the third featuring the much-loved Chief Inspector Georges Gorski.
'A deeply imagined and perfectly realised novel, and reading it is a dizzyingly immersive experience. Macrae Burnet's Gorski novels were already a significant achievement, but the concluding part is breathtaking—tragic, cinematic, propulsive—and marks a new standard in contemporary crime fiction. For anyone looking for genuinely ambitious crime fiction, this book is a gift.' Martin MacInnes, Booker-longlisted author of In Ascension
'5 stars. Burnet plays a metafictional game, but the book pulls off the rare double of being emotionally involving as well as teasingly tricksy.' Telegraph
'The gifted writer, Burnet, makes a mockery of the genres publishers impose on credulous readers...A Case of Matricide demonstrates literary talent of the highest order...Details of place are especially rich, and the subtle mores of the small town are reflected in Gorse's misguided incorruptibility...Few writers can rival Burnet.' Spectator
'This quirky blend of psychological thriller and small-town life is both thought-provoking and entirely convincing.' Guardian
'A perfect conclusion to the trilogy.' The Times
