Book review: The Messenger | Megan Davis

Edgy, elegant, and layered. The Messenger is a compelling, twisted literary thriller that spans, secrets, lies, betrayal, and murder in the dark heart of Paris.

Alex Giraud is only sixteen when he moves from the United States to Paris to reside with his father, Eddy. A wealthy journalist who drinks heavily and holds Alex to a harsh standard for his academic performance, Eddy is challenging figure to understand. He is hard on Alex, he frequently brings strange women over, and he seems to be involved in something that may be a bit shady. He says he is on the track of a huge story. Meanwhile Alex wants to see his mother, who is a transient figure in his life. She seems like his savior, but she also is elusive–pulling Alex in only to spend the time sharing about herself instead of getting to know her son.

Alex befriends a man from the streets Sami. Though Sami is essentially homeless and spends his days convincing tourists to buy perfume on the streets and pickpocketing, Alex envies him because he seems free. Meanwhile Sami wonders why someone with a beautiful home and money would ever envy a life like his.

The kids at Alex’s school pull him into drugs and a beautiful girl Lisa plays with his heart while bringing on the ire of her boyfriend Thomas (though he seems to already despise Alex). When they ask Alex to help them procure drugs, he becomes an go between for Sami and a man he works for and the wealthy kids of the elite school. But they soon turn on him when he brings them poisoned drugs.

Sami hatches a plot to get money by stealing from Alex’s father Eddy. Though Alex is reluctant, he eventually goes along with the charismatic Sami. But on the night they attempt it, Eddy winds up murdered and Sami and Alex are convicted of the crime.

Seven years later, Alex is released from prison, determined to find out who really murdered his father. But what he stumbles across is a web of secrets, deception, and betrayal that is bigger than he realized. The closer Alex gets to the truth, the more danger he is in.

Reflection

By about 40% I was completely engrossed in this book. I don’t want to spoil the main elements of the mystery and where it heads, but it is completely fascinating. I loved the setting in Paris and seeing the darker side to the city.

At it’s core, this is a book about dysfunctional families and the challenges youth face. I thought a compelling theme was seeing how much of an outcast Alex was within his peer group, and how that translated to him both finding kinship with Sami, and also being manipulated by Sami. Alex muses at one point when he is in the shady compound where Sami and many of the other street criminal reside that he looks up at the glittering, wealthy streets of Paris where those with means are driving by, and he wonders whether they realize how close they are to the Sami’s of the world who they think so poorly of. How the divide between them and society’s outcasts is bold but fragile.

Alex’s dynamic with his parents was incredibly well-written. With his father Eddy being the primary caregiver, small daily slights add up to Alex sometimes hating his father, while other times seeking his approval. His mother being an elusive figure in his life meant he often looked at her as his angel, desperate to go live with her. But soon it becomes clear there is a reason he barely sees her and her promises of him living with her always fall through. His father often “forbids it” but its clear that his mother doesn’t actually want him there.

The story centers on Alex but when I reflect, this is about widespread corruption that spans city lines and generations. The city of Paris and it’s various communities and divisions are central to the story. Alex is the character who seems to both belong everywhere and nowhere at times. The prison sentence divides his before and after with a gap that seems insurmountable. Seven years lost of a life that had barely started. The betrayal and lies he uncovers seem to expand and grow, and so many figures that seemed huge later become pawns in a network of greed, corruption, and power.

An edgy literary thriller that delivered a compelling, layered story with a great ending!

Find out more about the book and where you can purchase it here! Thank you to the team at Wunderkind PR and Pegasus Books for my copy.

About the Book (Goodreads)

Wealthy and privileged, Alex has an easy path to success in the Parisian elite his father mingles with. But the two have never seen eye to eye. Desperate to escape the increasingly suffocating atmosphere of their apartment, Alex seeks freedom on the streets of Paris where his new-found friend Sami teaches him how to survive. But everything has a price – and one night of rebellion changes their lives forever.

A simple plan to steal money takes a sinister turn when Alex’s father is found dead. Despite protesting their innocence, both boys are imprisoned for murder. Seven years later Alex is released from prison with a single purpose: to discover who really killed his father. Yet as he searches for answers and atones for the sins of his past, Alex uncovers a disturbing truth with far-reaching consequences.

Playing out against a backdrop of corruption, fake news and civil unrest, The Messenger exposes the gritty reality of a changing city through one son’s journey to redemption and the truth.

About the Author | Megan Davis

From Megan’s website:

I grew up in mining towns in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Singapore. I worked for many years as a lawyer in the film industry and my credits include The Constant Gardener, Atonement, Eastern Promises, In Bruges, Pride & Prejudice, and the Bourne films. In the film industry I encountered the world of corruption and white-collar crime and have worked in the field ever since. I am currently an associate at Spotlight on Corruption.

I have an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. The Messenger won the Bridport/Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award for a First Novel in 2018, judged by Kamila Shamsie. The Messenger won the 2021 Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize.

I am currently an associate at Spotlight on Corruption an anticorruption NGO. I’m very interested in whistleblowing, having been a whistleblower myself when I worked in the financial sector. I also participate in a coalition lobbying the government to bring in laws to stop the intimidation of journalists and others uncovering financial crime and corruption around the world by oligarchs and other powerful individuals who abuse British courts to silence their critics.