Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun

Sébastien Japrisot was born in Marseille, France in 1931. He published his first novel, Les Mal Partis, when he was just 17. Japrisot translated the works of J. D. Salinger and pursued a successful career in advertising and publicity. He was a scriptwriter and the director of two films. His first crime novel, The Sleeping Car Murders, was received with great acclaim. His reputation as a master for crime fiction grew with the publication of The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, A Trap for Cinderella and Rider on the Rain. His novel One Deadly Summer was made into a film starring Isabelle Adjani. A Very Long Engagement was an international bestseller and won the Prix Interallie. He died in 2003. Helen Weaver is an American writer and translator. She has translated more than fifty books from French. Antonin Artaud: Selected Writings was a Finalist for the National Book Award in translation in 1977.

'A welcome reissue of a French classic... Utterly captivating, this is a perfect diversion for a sunny afternoon' The Guardian ‘The most welcome talent since the early Simenons’ New York Times'Japrisot might be called the Graham Greene of France' The Independent 'A cordon bleu mixture of suspense, sex, trick psychology and fast action' Publishers Weekly'A disturbing, intricate and erotic novel' NB'A riddle as captivating as it is terrifying' Christian House'Oozes cool and uniqueness' Jera's Jamboree Praise for A Very Long Engagement‘A classic of its kind, brewing up enormous pathos undiluted by sentimentality’ Daily Telegraph‘Diabolically clever ... The reader is alternately impressed, beguiled, frightened, bewildered ... A considerable achievement’ Anita Brookner‘The narrative is brilliantly complex and beguiling, and the climax devastating’ The Independent‘Riveting ... A fierce, elliptical novel that’s both a gripping philosophical thriller and a highly moving meditation on the emotional consequences of war’ New York Times‘Precisely, surprisingly evocative of the lingering pain of mourning and the burdens of survival’ Kirkus Reviews‘A kind of latter-day War and Peace ... a rich and most original panorama’ Los Angeles Book Review Praise for One Deadly Summer‘A gripping tale of hatred, revenge, and lust … A sinister spellbinder’ Publishers Weekly'Japrisot's talent lies for one part in the clever construction of his novels ... it also lies in the writing that is simple, rhythmical, surprising, phonetic and lyrical' Le Point‘Japrisot holds a unique place in contemporary fiction. With the quality and originality of his writing, he has hugely contributed to breaking down the barrier between crime fiction and literary fiction' Le Monde ‘Unreeled with the taut, confident shaping of a grand master ... Funny, awful, first-rate. A rich and resonant sonata in black, astutely suspended between mythic tragedy and the grubby pathos of nagging everyday life' Kirkus Reviews‘A marvellous storyteller’ Télérama