Going to the Dogs

And anyway, who cares? All that matters is that the guy is dead, right?

A dark and thrilling ride about the most unlikely of killers, perfect for Tarantino fans, by the award-winning and bestselling author, PIERRE LEMAITRE

’A really excellent suspense novelist’ Stephen King
’A total success’ Le Canard Enchaîné
’Dark, very funny and completely unexpected’Madame Figaro
’Deft, funny, sharp . . . an absolute delight’ Guardian
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With Mathilde, there is never a stray bullet, her work is clean and neat. Tonight was an exception. A little whim. Obviously, she could have taken the shot from a distance, done less damage; obviously she could have made the hit with a single bullet. What can I say? I don’t know what came over me. This is what she will say if anyone asks. And anyway, who cares? All that matters is that the guy is dead, right?

1985. Paris. Sixty-three-year-old Mathilde Perrin is on another mission. A widow, mother and decorated hero of the Resistance, she is also a ruthless and skilled contract killer, and the most unlikely suspect. But tonight, something has changed. Mathilde is agitated, forgetful and impulsive - so much so that even Ludo, her loyal and long-suffering Dalmatian, has noticed a dangerous shift in her mood.

For Mathilde, retirement is not an option. And no superior, nor police detective nor meddling neighbour will stand in her way. But as Mathilde’s mind unravels and the bodies pile up, how long will it take before the killer herself becomes the target?

Pierre Lemaitre is an internationally renowned French author who was awarded the Prix Goncourt, France’s most prestigious literary award, for his novel The Great Swindle, and has three times won the C.W.A. International Dagger.

Frank Wynne is an award-winning literary translator.He has translated works by Michel Houellebecq and Frédéric Beigbeder, and his translation of Vernon Subutex by Virginie Despentes was shortlisted for the Man Booker International 2018.