Eugene Tarpon is back to sleeping in his office and waiting for a job that pays. Then he gets a call from an old contact in the police. A distant relative of his - a polite, persistent widow - wants someone to look into her daughter''s disappearance. The police have already given up. No leads, no hope, no point. Just take the case, take her money, and keep her busy. Tarpon''s too broke to refuse, and too much of a gentleman to brush her off. But the story doesn''t sit right. And when something smells off, he can''t help but start digging. With Skeletons in the Closet , Manchette sends his bruised, boozy detective stumbling deeper into the wreckage of modern France - exposing a world where justice is hollow, the missing stay missing, and decency is just another dead end.

Autorentext

Jean-Patrick Manchette (1942-1995) was a crime novelist, screenwriter, critic, and translator. In 1971 he published his first novel and went on to establish a new genre of French novel, the neo-polar. Vintage Classics publishes his Fatale, Nada, No Room at the Morgue and Skeletons in the Closet.

Klappentext

'His brutal best' - New York Times

A girl is missing, leaving no leads, no hope, no point - it's just the case for Eugène Tarpon.

Tarpon is sleeping in his office once again, when he's offered a job he's too broke to refuse. A distant relative wants him to investigate her daughter's disappearance. The police have given up already, but Tarpon is too much of a gentleman to brush the old lady off. And when something smells off, he's not a man who can stop digging.

Skeletons in the Closet takes the bruised and boozy detective of No Room at the Morgue even deeper into the wreckage of modern France. Manchette exposes a world where justice is hollow and decency is just another dead end.

**PRAISE FOR JEAN-PATRICK MANCHETTE

'Writing so dark it gives a new meaning to the word noir' - Frederick Méziès

'We must revere him now and rediscover him this very instant' - James Ellroy

'A comedic genius...I read and reread him, stunned, appalled, and laughing out loud' - Rachel Kushner**