This adaption of Michel Bussi's Black Water Lilies is twisted into a mobius strip where the reader only learns who is who at the end of the tale. Two murders led to a third death many years later, but it all goes back to jealousy and a desire for control. A life relived is a funny thing especially when it is coming to an end. A very interesting look at the intersection of art and death with life.

Ok, that was SO much better than I expected and I did not see that twist coming by a LONG shot! Holy smokes! Now I want to read the novel this graphic novel was adapted from because that was so darn good! It's so sad too! I don't want to say much of anything because I don't want to spoil it but DAAAAAAANG!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for approving my request to read and review Black Water Lilies.
I don't read a lot of comics/graphic novels, but this was a mystery that sounded appealing and I found that it held my interest. The artwork is gorgeous and compliments the story well.
If you enjoy mysteries and comics, this would be a great one to pick up!

(4,6 of 5 for well-executed comics adaptation - the crime comics from the village of Giverny - the place famous for Monet and his impressionism.)
I enjoyed this graphic novel. The story is great, the setting is interesting and the art is very beautiful. Didier Cassegrain did his best and his art helps to feel the place. To transfer the reader somewhere else, both in place and the time. The art balances between simple and precise and I believe he found the right balance. At least for me. I enjoyed how he draws all humans - men, women, kids and elder. It felt very natural with artistic elegance. To Fred Duval, I must make a deep bow. The story is elegant, slow-paced (which fits the life in the village of Giverny), but still thrilling and catching. I enjoyed his storytelling very much, but how he operates with scenes, how he combines different places and parts of the story to slowly spiral all that to the ending is awesome. I enjoyed it very, very much, the mood, the art, the pace and how the story was laid out. I'm impressed, this is fantastic comics.
I have one more insight about what impressed me most, you can check spoiler part on my Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3263261665
But be warned, even if I do not let out some specific information, the text can spoil you some surprise.

An art collector is found stabbed, drowned in a river with his head bashed in by a rock. Was the man murdered by a jealous husband or jilted lover, or for a lost Monet painting? The story takes place in the village of Giverny, home of Claude Monet and his famous gardens. The mystery itself was interesting, with lots of interludes into Monet's life. I did not see the end coming at all which was a delight. Mysteries rarely surprise me. I'm going to have to read the Michel Bussi novel this was adapted from now.

The book is brilliantly illustrated. It's absolutely gorgeous. Didier Cassegrain paints with a style and color palette reminiscent of Monet's famous water lilies while still maintaining his own flair. I often found myself lost in the art itself.

What starts out as an intriguing crime novel, apparently based on a successful French prose book, is scuppered, ultimately. For the ending is bodged, and in result the entire piece going back is therefore bodged too. One and a half stars – it might well have been more.

Such beautiful art!! Wow!! I was invested all the way through. I really want to reread a physical copy just to be able to marvel at the art!

This is a great example of a classic slow building suspense thriller. Intriguing, mysterious, and ultimately very satisfying. Keeps you guessing. There is a twist ending worthy of Alfred Hitchcock... I was almost able to figure it out but I couldn't quite put it all together - I love that!

The art is a basic style, sort of rudimentary characters with indistinct backgrounds that fade into the imagination. Light pastel colors add to the overall effect of something almost on the edge of reality.

I wasn't aware of the original source material for this graphic novel, that there had been a best-selling novel of the same name by Michel Bussi. I don't know if that makes a difference in reading enjoyment of not.

I would highly recommend Black Water Lilies to anyone who enjoys classic suspense stories. Not flashy but we'll told.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Never judge a book by its cover they say, and that's doubly true when it comes to graphic novels, where the cover art might be promising but the interior artwork often never quite lives up to it. Not so in the case of Black Water Lilies, where the interior art by Didier Cassegrain surpasses the cover with stunning imagery and measures up to the somewhat high demand of capturing its picturesque Normandy village location of Giverny very much in the spirit of Monet.

In the case of Black Water Lilies however, and it is a 'case' since it's a crime thriller, the evocation of Monet is central to the mystery and the metaphor of not judging a book by its cover also applies to the three characters that Michel Bussi (author of the original novel that this graphic novel is based upon) introduces at the start of this intriguing mystery. There's an almost Agatha Christie-like elegance combined with brutality in the staged planning and, ahem, execution of the crime indicated on the cover and on the crimes that follow and indeed precede it.

On May 13th 2010, a wealthy local businessman Jérôme Morval, resident of the exclusive Rue Claude Monet in the picturesque village of Giverny, is found murdered (as you can see by the cover) in circumstances that are rather pretty for such an ugly killing. Morval has been killed in three different ways; the stab to the heart would have led to certain death, but the victim also has a massive gash to the skull, his body then submerged in the river.

Is there a reason why Morval has been killed three different ways? Might there be not one but three murderers? Well, Black Water Lilies focusses on three women, none of whom seem likely murderers: one is an 11 year old schoolgirl, the other a 36 year old school teacher, and the other an 80 year old woman who appears to be observing events or watching a plan unfold. None of them appear to be acquainted with each other and yet there are somehow connected to the death of Jérôme Morval. Never judge a book by its cover indeed.

Inspector Sérénac has a few leads, mostly related to alleged affairs and some anonymous photos, but there's a connection to an art Foundation competition run in Giverny. The Inspector has a suspect very much in mind, but he seems smitten with suspect's wife, the sexy schoolteacher Stéphane Dupain and that may be clouding his judgement. And if Monet's mythical Black Water Lilies painted on his deathbed really exists, might this have something to do with the case?

Michel Bussi's clever thriller keeps the detective and the reader guessing with some ingenious plot developments and surprising revelations that pose a certain number of difficulties for adaptation to graphic novel. And yet, the flow of the work is brilliant, the artwork persuasive and even clever at introducing its own visual clues, twists and revelations that makes you want to backtrack and read it all again in a new light. And such is the beauty of Duval and Cassegrain's Black Water Lilies that you'll be more than happy to go over it all once again.

(3.5 stars) An atmospheric mystery about several murders in the village made famous by Monet and his waterlilies. I never saw the ending coming; it connects the three main characters nicely and made me want to go back and work out what I had missed. It must have been a challenge for the illustrator (as well as the author of the original novel this is based on) to not give too much away.

"Black Water Lilies" is a lot of fun. Great characterization and plot throughout. Definitely will recommend this one.

Based on the novel of Michel Bussi of the same title, Black Water Lilies is a compelling crime thriller comics featuring three fascinating women. The setting is in the picturesque Giverny, home of the famous gardens of Claude Monet.

I loved how the mystery is somewhat centered on a rumored lost painting of Monet, and how the narrative gave the reader some insight to the artist’s works and history. The art style of the graphic novel more than gave justice to the renowned painter’s as well. I usually encounter dark tones when it comes to reading crime graphic novels, but this one is so colorful and almost whimsical, without sacrificing the suspense and violence (where needed).

This also gave me one of the best plot twists I’ve ever read in a crime novel, one I know I wouldn’t forget even years from now. I would have given this a perfect 5⭐️ rating, but I did feel a bit unsatisfied with one element of the whole story. I couldn’t say which one, specifically, in fear of spoilers. But it has to do with a certain character’s motivations for his/her actions that did not seem clear or well explained to me. I would still say that I am only that more excited to read the original novel to see if I will get more answers from there.

All in all, an awesome work of art and crime mystery that I would recommend to all fans of the genre. Big thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Europe Comics for a temporary digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Black Water Lilies’ with script by Fred Duval and Michel Bussi and art by Didier Cassegrain in exchange for an honest review. It was translated from the French by Edward Gauvin.

This graphic novel is based on the 2011 bestselling French novel by Michel Bussi.

“Three willful women: one old wicked, one young and selfish, and the third in the prime of her life. A man murdered three ways: stabbed, bludgeoned, and drowned in a stream. The mystery brings brash young Inspector Laurenç to the postcard-perfect Norman village of Giverny, home to Impressionist Claude Monet’s gardens and studio. Like any small town, Giverny has its secrets.”

This proved an interesting mystery one of those best approached avoiding spoilers. The title comes from a rumoured lost Monet titled ‘Black Water Lilies’.

Michel Bussi writes at the end: “My ‘Black Water Lilies’ were said to be unadaptable ... but Fred Duval’s subtle script and Didier Cassegrain’s delicate artwork prove quite the opposite. This graphic novel is a dream come true,”

While I am not familiar with the original I am very fond of mysteries linked to art and was certainly intrigued by the story. The artwork was stunning, very much capturing a sense of the timelessness of Monet’s work. The combination of sparse words and the art creates a dreamlike quality to the tale.

I have since ordered a copy of the novel and look forward to reading it, even knowing the outcome.

It was nice for a change to read crime fiction in a comic format. I've not read Michel Bussi's novel but I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem from the beginning until the end. I believe that it will be equally appealing even to those who are familiar with the book as the comic format offers a totally different reading experience. Recommended!

Brilliantly told and beautifully illustrated. This is the graphic novel version of the murder mystery story by the same name.

Jérôme Morval, a local philanderer is found dead. In his pocket is a postcard of Monet's Water Lilies with the words 'Eleven years old. Happy Birthday' and so begins a mystery that involves Monet, art and the lives of three women: a young painting prodigy, a seductive village schoolteacher and a creepy old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream.

These three women are touched by this murder but they don't know how and they don't know who. As the story is told we are drawn into the complexities of love and life in a small town, but although it is the town where Monet painted beauty, it is a town that hides much darkness.

The artwork in this story has a dreamlike quality which is very fitting for a story involving Monet. The story is like a tapestry with different threads and they all come together in a brilliant way. I haven't read the written version but the graphic version packs a punch even though it is told through pictures. It kept me guessing to the end and when the end unfolded I had the brilliant sensation of seeing a puzzle with all its complex pieces just become suddenly complete in the most stunning way.

It is an excellent story which now has an excellent graphic novel as well. Well worth reading even for those who aren't grpahic novel fans.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley

Wonderful, a great graphic novel. I am still trying to decide if the story was better than the pictures or viceversa.

Bellissima graphic novel. Sto ancora cercando di capire se mi sono piaciuti di piú i disegni o la storia.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Stunning

Of course, there are lots of pretty and artistically accomplished graphic novels out there. And there are plenty of mysteries - suspenseful, action-packed, noir, twisty, romantic, or classic. But this is the only graphic novel I've found that is all of that - beautiful, romantic, serious, compelling, and shockingly original. The book is wildly entertaining and rewarding on almost every level.

There is a murder, and it occurs in Giverney. Monet's Giverney. The macguffin may be a famous lost Monet painting of Black Water Lilies. The victim and the perp(s) may be involved in a shady art market. I use only "may" because the mystery here is exquisite and any further attempt to describe it or even refer to it threatens to ruin the fun. You will probably see that all reviews of this book, (and of the prose version by Bussi upon which the graphic novel is based), avoid any details or further hints or allusions. Suffice to say that the mystery is devilish, the police procedural is compelling, and the resolution is satisfying in the extreme.

In the meantime enjoy the characters, the leisurely development of the story, the setting, the sharp dialogue and witty banter, and the engaging asides regarding art, Monet, Impressionism, the history of Giverney, artistic talent and temperament, and a hundred sharply observed details and bits of business.

And along with that, appreciate the fine artwork. Consider the challenge of drawing a graphic novel that centers on Monet, the Impressionists, and the surroundings that inspired them. How do you do that justice and still illustrate a mystery story? Well, Cassegrain more than rises to that challenge. The characters are engaging and expressive. The scenes are at just the right level of line and detail and the coloring work is incredible. The tale involves suspense, action, crime detection, mood, and sexual tension, and all of this is pulled off with style, vigor, and elegance.

Needless to say I was greatly taken by this book. It is one of the few mysteries that I still puzzle over and think about, and as a work of art it could sit comfortably among the academic tomes on Impressionism. Bussi's original novel was a huge literary hit in Europe; this edition is a remarkably successful adaptation of that book to the graphic medium. An excellent find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)