ROMANS POLICIERS FRANÇAISE Fortes femmes Alexandre Lous - MAGAZINE LITTERAIRE - Sept. '95 THE CURSE OF THE BAYOUS Gwen Hunter With THE CURSE OF THE BAYOUS, Gwen Hunter attaches herself to another type of scandal, sexual terrorism practiced by men on women, be they adults or adolescents. In this case, the heroine is called Nicolette Dazincourt, A name which comes of well in the Cajun country. She lives in Moisson in the heart of Louisiana. Her life would have been dull if, at the age of eighteen, she had not met the seductive Montgomery DeLande, the son of one of the richest families in the region. And that will be Hell -- a terrifying dive into a savage world of brutes, of maniacs, of sadists, and of individuals without morals and values. Nicolette will do everything to try to leave to the point of selecting a fatal weapon to commit a murder. There is most certainly some of Faulkner and Caldwell in this implacable novel. But perhaps, more still, of Flannery O'Connor of whom Gwen Hunter could definitely be, at this end of the twentieth century, the direct heiress. That which is sure in every way, is that with her one is faced with an authentic romantic. Not only does she know quite well how to present a story and give it rhythm, but moreover, she possesses the art of reproducing the soul and the manners of the real Louisiana. Far from habitual clichés and images of touristic views. It could not be stopped! [I couldn't put it down!] Painted in black, the old French colony has only become more fascinating. LA MALÉDICTION DES BAYOUS, Gwen Hunter. Traduit par Berthe Schartzenberg. Ed. Albin Michel, collection Spécial Suspense, 120 F.
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