The body covered with a strange white powder… the extremities gangrenous…
A face frozen in a grimace of pain…
Sarah Geringën is gripped with horror when she sees her father’s body. And is paralysed with fear when the pathologist gives her the key found in his stomach.
What if her father was not the man he seemed to be?
From murky Norwegian forests to icy Siberian plains, the former Special Forces inspector goes on a journey to confront a terrifying family secret. What will she discover in that old manor house isolated in the woods? Will she dare venture onto Devil’s Island?
Nicolas Beuglet’s new novel is a spine-chilling thriller that exhumes a horrifying unknown event from the depths of history and poses intriguing questions. How much of our ancestors live in us, for better or worse?
Your new thriller Devil’s Island begins where you left off in Complot: Sarah Geringën is in a sticky predicament in a prison cell… What is she doing behind bars?
Sarah has been imprisoned as a result of the daring and determination that characterise her. In her job she
has a reputation of being cold and taciturn but with a formidable efficiency that makes her one of the best inspectors in the country. Which is why the government had called on her to find out who assassinated the Norwegian Prime Minister in The Alliance. But at the most critical moment of her investigation, Sarah inadvertently caused the death of an innocent bystander whom she was trying to save. The circumstances
are unclear and while the enquiry is being carried out, she is incarcerated. She is consumed with remorse
and also with grief at the break up with the love of her life, Christopher.
Sarah is confronted with a murder that will shake her to the very depths, uncovering the pain of a past filled with shadows…
When she learns of her father’s murder, Sarah is convinced it is the result of a burglary gone wrong. Her father was a peaceable man with a straightforward life. However, when she sees the terrifying staging of the murder, she realises he was not the man he seemed to be. His body is covered in a mysterious white powder, his extremities are frozen to the point of gangrene and his face is contorted with suffering. Stranger still, the pathologist finds a key in his stomach. What does it open? What terrible act can her father have committed to deserve such a death?
For me, finding out that someone you love is not the person you thought he was, is the most anxiety-making experience. Especially if that shadowy area has repercussions for oneself…
Your thriller deals with an incredible affair of revenge. A meal best eaten very very cold… And which takes us back to an unknown but chilling historical event. What can you tell us about this, without spoiling the intrigue?
One day I was helping friends move a small public library. A history book had been left on a shelf and when I saw its terrifying title, I was immediately captured. The book described in detail a terrible event that took place somewhere in Europe during the 1930s. The facts were so appalling that I was certain I would find references to them in every history textbook and in large number of articles but in fact there were none! It is extraordinary that such an affair is not known all over the world, particularly since what
happened there inevitably left deep traces in our collective memory.
At the end of the book we finally understand the complex personality of your heroine. Devil’s Island seems to conclude a trilogy. Is that right?
As an investigator, Sarah is a woman who fights for the truth – but in fact, most of all she is fighting herself. Eaten up with a guilt she does not understand, she immerses herself in work, trying to make amends for an unknown sin. All while hoping desperately for a child. In this latter aim, Sarah will be pushed to the furthest reaches of her unconscious. What will she find there? The redemption she hopes for or a truth that will destroy her? Her inner conflict reflects our own: we all have to move forward in life despite the traumas we have inherited from our parents. I feel that the psychological battle Sarah wages with herself captures the question that propels everyone’s life: to what degree are we capable of, or do we want, freedom?
Reviews
“Le roi du «thriller» français” Brigitte Hernandez, Le Point.fr
“Rebondissements, dénouement imprévisible… l’auteur nous épate avec ce nouvel opus.” Héloïse Rocca, Version Femina
“Après Le Cri et Complot, Nicolas Beuglet clôt de façon magistrale sa trilogie autour de Sarah Geringën.” Stéphanie Lohr, Ici Paris
“Glaçant et terriblement addictif !” Sébastien Dubos, La Dépêche du Midi
“Il y a eu Le Cri, puis Complot, voici enfin L’Île du Diable, troisième opus bouleversant mais inoubliable de la saga de Nicolas Beuglet qui manie à merveille l’art de mêler fiction et réalité historique.” Florence Dalmas, Le Dauphiné Libéré
“[…] un thriller parfaitement cousu, une plongée bouleversante dans le réel.” Christophe Colinet, La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest
” Il faut lire tout de suite cette histoire de vengeance. Un régal frissonnant.” Bernard Cattanéo, Le Courrier français
“Un thriller oppressant […]. Nicolas Beuglet fait partie de ces auteurs qui prennent leur lecteur par la main, ces derniers ne le lâchant plus, comme hypnotisés par l’action continue.” Michel Litout, L’Indépendant
“Secret de famille et vengeance, histoire et épigénétique, ce thriller est à glacer les sangs.” Catherine Pauchet, ACIP
Reviews
“L’auteur me retourne le cerveau à chaque fois !” Secrète Alliance – Littéraire (blog)
“Vous n’allez pas en revenir !” Les Lectures De Kaly_books (blog)
“Encore un très bon thriller qui monte en intensité au fil des pages.” @leslecturesdepascaline sur instragram
“Basé sur des faits historiques réels, ce livre est aussi captivant qu’effrayant. J’ai ponctué ma lecture de ‘What?!?’, ”Non mais what?!?'” Au chapitre d’Elodie (blog)
“Alerte, coup de cœur !” @booksandmartini sur instagram
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