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  • Luca by Franck Thilliez
  • Nathalie G. Cornelius
Thilliez, Franck. Luca. Fleuve, 2019. ISBN 978-2-265-11781-5. Pp. 552.

The move of Frank Sharko's brigade from the outmoded but familiar le 36 to the slick modernity of le Bastion marks a new era in the Sharko-Hennebelle thriller series. Sharko, a veteran with a predilection for old-fashioned policing and intuitive hunches, will need to resort to cutting-edge detection techniques to chase down tech-savvy criminals. Four initially distinct mysteries simultaneously fall upon the police team: the sudden disappearance of a surrogate in a highly publicized custody case, the kidnapping of a jogger who streams video of her exercise routes, the sudden death of a man bearing a portentous letter inviting the brigade to a macabre game, and the discovery of an eviscerated corpse abandoned in a forest ditch. As the investigations progress, leads converge but also multiply in complexity. In this solid police thriller, the brigade finds itself drawn into a race against time. Luca is one of the author's best, and, true to Thilliez's style, it is a delightfully layered narrative. It features a tightly-wound plot with fast-paced action, unexpected traps, and intriguing puzzles. Perpetrators, whose unnatural acts push the boundaries of the imagination, congregate in vividly described venues frequented by the fringes of society. Disparate mythological, medical, and digital references cleverly combine to weave a network of terrifying realism that fascinates the reader from start to finish. In counterbalance to this world of darkness and violence, Thilliez confers emotional depth upon the supporting characters. The personal lives of Sharko and Hennebelle take a refreshing step back. The reader learns of Captain Nicolas Bellanger's psychiatric treatments for the painful loss of his lover (which occurred in an earlier Thilliez novel) and the challenges he faces as a consequence of this trauma. Through the officer's reflections, the reader is educated on memory's sensory and emotional components, and vicariously experiences its soothing properties which paradoxically can sabotage the healing process. The mystery behind new colleague Audra Spick's reticence to discuss her past is intriguing and heart-wrenching. What further elevates this thriller is its unabashed foray into contentious ethical issues. The author delves into the difficulties of defining social, digital, and genetic identity. Well-researched information on transhumanism, bio-hacking, genetic manipulation, digital algorithms, and data collection is timely and thought-provoking. Prospective readers should understand that, if they enter into the thriller's literary contract for escapist purposes, they will find themselves on a journey that offers more than superficial entertainment. The novel, as a mirror of society, reminds the readers that the distraction technology offers is not without consequence. In our consumerist society, every digital act leaves a footprint of information exploitable by those with the knowledge, power, and financial backing to collect it. Luca convincingly demonstrates how even an insignificant choice can unpredictably modify the topography of our literary, technological, or biological reality. [End Page 254]

Nathalie G. Cornelius
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
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