An undercover cop and a prison inmate play a tense game of cat and mouse in this brilliantly original thriller by the master of French noir
At one of France’s toughest prisons, an undercover cop is attempting to trap an enemy spy by posing as a fellow inmate. So Frank and Hal find themselves holed up together in a grimy, rat-infested cell, each warily eyeing the other. As they plan a daring escape, an unexpected friendship ensues—but which is the cop and which is the spy?
Gritty and hard-hitting, The Wicked Go to Hell is a tense, paranoid 1950s thriller about duty and conscience, deception and loyalty, and about what it means to be human—whether you’re the good guy or not.
"With their tight plots, the stories are particularly cinematic, and fi lm-makers are already showing interest. Dard also wrote screenplays and plays. Their revival could be just around the corner." — The Observer
"It’s a game of cat and mouse where cat and mouse are both wearing masks: claustrophobic, paranoid in the extreme, and very entertaining. A tough-guy version of Kafka." - The Spectator
"No question: for me, he was the greatest." - Philippe Geluck
"" — International Crime Fiction
"His language is cutting, his point-of-view original and his verdict uncompromising... One of the few twentieth-century authors to win both critical acclaim and great popularity" - Solidarité Militaire
"The literary descendant of Simenon and Celine"- Le Figaro
"Fast-moving... a one-sitting read" –Barry Forshaw, Independent
"…this short, sly novel of the night has more than enough substance and mystery to keep readers awake and engrossed.” – Malcolm Forbes, The National
"A typically fast-paced, brutal and smart offering from the prolific French writer" – Sunday Times Crime Club
"France's most popular post-war author." - L'Express
Frédéric Dard (1921-2000) was one of the best known and loved French crime writers of the twentieth century. Enormously prolific, he wrote more than three hundred thrillers, suspense stories, plays and screenplays, under a variety of noms de plume, throughout his long and illustrious career, which also saw him win the 1957 Grand prix de littérature policière for The Executioner Cries, forthcoming from Pushkin Vertigo.
An undercover cop and a prison inmate play a tense game of cat and mouse in this brilliantly original thriller by the master of French noir
At one of France’s toughest prisons, an undercover cop is attempting to trap an enemy spy by posing as a fellow inmate. So Frank and Hal find themselves holed up together in a grimy, rat-infested cell, each warily eyeing the other. As they plan a daring escape, an unexpected friendship ensues—but which is the cop and which is the spy?
Gritty and hard-hitting, The Wicked Go to Hell is a tense, paranoid 1950s thriller about duty and conscience, deception and loyalty, and about what it means to be human—whether you’re the good guy or not.
Reviews
"With their tight plots, the stories are particularly cinematic, and fi lm-makers are already showing interest. Dard also wrote screenplays and plays. Their revival could be just around the corner." — The Observer
"It’s a game of cat and mouse where cat and mouse are both wearing masks: claustrophobic, paranoid in the extreme, and very entertaining. A tough-guy version of Kafka." - The Spectator
"No question: for me, he was the greatest." - Philippe Geluck
"" — International Crime Fiction
"His language is cutting, his point-of-view original and his verdict uncompromising... One of the few twentieth-century authors to win both critical acclaim and great popularity" - Solidarité Militaire
"The literary descendant of Simenon and Celine"- Le Figaro
"Fast-moving... a one-sitting read" –Barry Forshaw, Independent
"…this short, sly novel of the night has more than enough substance and mystery to keep readers awake and engrossed.” – Malcolm Forbes, The National
"A typically fast-paced, brutal and smart offering from the prolific French writer" – Sunday Times Crime Club
"France's most popular post-war author." - L'Express
Author
Frédéric Dard (1921-2000) was one of the best known and loved French crime writers of the twentieth century. Enormously prolific, he wrote more than three hundred thrillers, suspense stories, plays and screenplays, under a variety of noms de plume, throughout his long and illustrious career, which also saw him win the 1957 Grand prix de littérature policière for The Executioner Cries, forthcoming from Pushkin Vertigo.
