The back cover of my advance paperback copy of Wild Dog describes this as “The literary thriller of spring 2020…” They could well be correct.

Serge Joncour has more or less given us two novels set about 100 years apart but linked by an intriguing remote location. Both stories are atmospheric, tense thrillers and the reader will fear for the worse without really knowing what it may be. They are told in alternate chapters, most of which end in a hook so the author teases us as he swaps the action back and forth. Given that each story is equally compelling that is not a problem.

The 2017 story is the longer and slightly stronger of the two as we witness Lise and Franck using very different methods to cope with the realisation that their successful careers are on the wane.

Do not dismiss the 1914/1915 part of the book which is worthy in its own right with great detail on the effect of the Great War on ordinary French people. It made me realise just how desperate things were for France in 1914 and it helped me to understand why they were reluctant to fight on after our early defeats in 1940.

Yes, Wild Dog is a tense thriller that throughout reminds us of the dangers of the countryside but it is also very strong on relationships. Not just Lise and Franck, Jacqueline and Wolfgang, Franck and Alpha, but also Franck and his phone, the village women and their husbands….

Serge Joncour has written a number of French novels, short stories and screenplays with Wild Dog published as Chien-Loup in 2018. I understand this is the first of his novels to be translated into English and Jane Aitken and Polly Mackintosh are to be congratulated for their contribution. If this is typical of his work they should take a look at Joncour’s back catalogue.

Whether you are a regular reader or just looking for your 2020 holiday reading I urge you to take a look at Wild Dog. It is a true five star read.

Serge Joncour is a French novelist and screenwriter. He was born in Paris in 1961 and studied philosophy at university before deciding to become a writer.

His first novel, Vu, was published by Le Dilettante in 1998. He wrote the screenplay for Sarah’s Key starring Kristin Scott Thomas, released in 2011. His 2016 novel Repose-toi sur moi won the Prix Interallié. Wild Dog is the first of his novels to be published in English.