The Mystery of Henri Pick - (Walter Presents) by David Foenkinos (Paperback)

About the Book

In the small town of Crozon in Brittany, a library houses manuscripts that were rejected for publication: the faded dreams of aspiring writers. Visiting while on holiday, young editor Delphine Despero is thrilled to discover a novel so powerful that she feels compelled to bring it back to Paris to publish it. The book is a sensation, prompting fevered interest in the identity of its author - apparently one Henri Pick, a now-deceased pizza chef from Crozon. Sceptics cry that the whole thing is a hoax: how could this man have written such a masterpiece? An obstinate journalist, Jean-Michel Rouche, heads to Brittany to investigate.

Book Synopsis

The delightful first title in a new collaboration with Channel 4's Walter Presents: a fast-paced comic mystery enriched by a deep love of books

In the small town of Crozon in Brittany, a library houses manuscripts that were rejected for publication: the faded dreams of aspiring writers. Visiting while on holiday, young editor Delphine Despero is thrilled to discover a novel so powerful that she feels compelled to bring it back to Paris to publish it.

The book is a sensation, prompting fevered interest in the identity of its author - apparently one Henri Pick, a now-deceased pizza chef from Crozon. Sceptics cry that the whole thing is a hoax: how could this man have written such a masterpiece? An obstinate journalist, Jean-Michel Rouche, heads to Brittany to investigate.

By turns farcical and moving, The Mystery of Henri Pick is a fast-paced comic mystery enriched by a deep love of books - and of the authors who write them.

Curley #108

Review Quotes

"A delight with a novel premise." -- CrimeReads

"The Mystery of Henri Pick is so ridiculously French that if it started smoking Gitanes while you read it, you wouldn't be entirely surprised." -- The Sunday Times Culture magazine

"This book is light, funny and erudite: a delight." -- The Guardian

"A charming literary caper... A playfully droll satire of the French publishing scene and a completely delightful jeu d'esprit." -- The Daily Mail

"Written with humour, wit and intelligence, it's set in a world of books and publishing. I really enjoyed it." -- TripFiction

"The Mystery of Henri Pick manages the great gap between levity and profundity, between humour and seriousness. A beautiful farce." -- Le Figaro Littéraire

About the Author

Novelist, screenwriter and musician David Foenkinos was born in 1974. He is the author of fourteen novels that have been translated into forty languages. Several of his works have been adapted for film, including Delicacy (2011). The Mystery of Henri Pick is the first title in a new collaboration with Channel 4's Walter Presents.