Three to Kill

"The book that kept me up way too late:Three to Kill by Jean-Patrick Manchette: vicious and hilarious, Manchette was a new discovery for me about three years ago."—Rachel Kushner, author of Creation Lake in Elle Magazine "His books are all action, unfolding with a laconic efficiency that would make his killers proud."—The Economist Businessman Georges Gerfaut witnesses a murder—and is pursued by the killers. His conventional life knocked off the rails, Gerfaut turns the tables and sets out to track down his pursuers. Along the way, he learns a thing or two about himself. . . . Manchette—masterful stylist, ironist, and social critic—limns the cramped lives of professionals in a neoconservative world. "Manchette has appropriated and subverted the classic thriller [with] descriptions of undiluted action, violence and suspense [and] a perspective on evil, a disenchanted world of manipulation and fury. . . ."—Times Literary Supplement "The petty exigencies of the classic thriller find themselves summarily reduced to cremains by the fiery blue jets of Jean-Patrick Manchette's concision, intelligence, tension, and style."—Jim Nisbet, author of Lethal Injection and Prelude to a Scream "Manchette is a must for the reading lists of all noir fans. . . . Manchette deserves a higher profile among noir fans."—Publishers Weekly "Manchette . . . performs miracles within this simple story. His style is very matter of fact, stark and almost cool like the jazz his hero or anti-hero Gerfaut devours at every opportunity. Yet in this short novel there is no lack of atmosphere, excitement, characters or descriptive writing, it is just the total lack of unnecessary material that makes the story seem so lean and mean."—Norman Price, EuroCrime "A social satire cum suspense equally interested in dissecting everyday banalities and manufacturing thrills. Writing with economy, deadpan irony, and an eye for the devastating detail, Manchette spins pulp fiction into literature."—Kirkus Reviews "Whi