Thanks Netgallery for early review copy.

I found the book is very well written. Flows ok.

It started quiet slow but it does pick up as the books on. I did find that some the content was dragged out a bit . Other than that I did actually enjoy the different kind read from what I normally read.

At times a very interesting read although i found it a tad confusing with the timelines etc and not knowing Paris well could not visualise the geographical descriptions etc,overall a good read

I have mixed feelings about The Messenger. I liked the writing style, and I thought the premise and the setting were excellent - there was a really strong sense of place early on in the story that the author captured brilliantly. The intrigue was there, with the protagonist trying to find out what really happened to his father, but unfortunately I found the narrative to be confusing in parts, which led to much stopping and starting while trying to work out what was going on. Overall, this isn't a book I would recommend, but I would definitely try the author's future work.

I really enjoyed this book…. Alex's story is told in 2 timelines,the first tells of his troubled school days,his descent into criminality with Sami and events leading to the death of his Father while the second involves the newly-released Alex trying to prove his,and more importantly Sami's ,innocence convinced that Patrick was investigating at a story that cost him his life,and that of a fellow journalist friend who followed the trail later.
As Alex tries to unravel the mystery of his Father's death it becomes very obvious that dark forces are watching and trying to warn him off. I highly recommend reading this book! It was well worth reading! The storyline was very interesting, it sucked me in and had me glued to my Kindle! Definitely don't miss out on this one! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Set in Paris, “The Messenger” is about a teenager’s quest to find his father’s killer after he is wrongly imprisoned for his murder.

Read it if: you want a slow-paced literary mystery combined with a coming-of-age story.

Don’t read it if: you’re looking for something you can speedily sail through – this one forces you to stop and think.

As far as thriller mysteries go, this plot of “The Messenger” is very compelling. You are really feel the protagonist’s (Alex) confusion about his father’s life, career and the mysterious circumstances of his death. The plot brings in big political issues such as class, the nature of protest, homelessness, ethics in business and journalistic integrity.

My favourite parts of the book are when we see Alex’s interactions with his father and other family members, and we follow his struggle to be accepted for who he is, and ultimately to be believed and have his suspicions vindicated.

The novel also has a dystopian feel to it, as it presents a terrifying future that I found extremely believable as we reach the end of 2022.

With thanks to Bonnier Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could hardly put this down! From the opening chapter this book pulls you into a dark story full of twists, set in a side of modern day Paris that tourists will never see. Beyond the murder and the broader coming-of-age story at its core, it is both disturbingly realistic and yet on the fringes of dystopia, it invites the reader to contemplate what our world would be like if some of the more xenophobic elements in our society were allowed to take hold.

Set in Paris, the book moves back and forth between the present day and seven years ago. In the present, Alex Giraud is struggling to cope with life following his release from prison for his role in the murder of his father, seven years ago. The narrative slowly discloses what happened seven years ago when Alex, privileged public school boy goes off the rails. Today's story reveals why Alex is himself at risk in the present day. As the book develops the two stories become more intimately entwined revealing that what is happening today is to do with what happened in the past. I found this book a bit of a slow burner to start with, although it became a more compelling read as it progressed. I thought it was overall a clever book, and raised some interesting issues about privilege and class.
There were, however, a couple of bits that didn't ring true to me. Firstly, Alex has a brief relationship with a girl, Lisa, aged 16. When released from prison she seemingly jumps at the chance to get involved with him again, although the earlier narrative suggests she was not actually that keen on him (but more interested in what drugs he could score). The second aspect which bothered me is when Alex reads his medical records while in hospital. The present-day world in this book is very similar to the world of 2022 where medical records and much of our data generally is digited- so the likelihood of Alex finding a letter marked confidential revealing the truth about his father seems highly unlikely to me, and clearly designed to reveal that little twist.

You don't expect a coming-of-age novel to have a brutal murder at its core, but that's exactly what this darkly real, and gripping thriller is built on. It is a deep and intense novel, always human and yet often disturbing - it twists a path through the streets of Paris, along the line where privilege and those living on the edge interact. I found it utterly compelling - I read it through in maybe just four sittings and I can see why it won so many awards. I'll never look at Paris the same way again.

A teenage boy rebelling against his father and anxious to be accepted by his peers enters the refugee camps of outer Paris to score drugs. He engages with one of the outcasts to try to rob his father but this goes wrong and later that night his father is found dead. After years in prison he starts to look at what his journalist father had been working on prior to his death and finds a web of intrigue. Swingers clubs, development of high value city sites - t6he more he finds out the more obvious it is that he is being watched by people who don't want him looking any further... Complex and intriguingly plausible plot, a good read.

Megan Davis’ debut thriller ‘The Messenger’ is set in contemporary Paris. Nevertheless, not amongst the well-known tourist sites of Notre Dame, the Seine, the beautiful boulevards or the tempting patisseries and chic cafes, and it is all the better for it. Davis focuses far more on life beyond the Périphérique where immigrants struggle in sub-standard housing and the homeless fight for their patch of squalor. The author has lived in Paris and her depiction of life beyond the city’s glossy façade feels entirely authentic.
Her story focuses on Alex who has been in prison for seven years, caught up as a teenager in the murder of his journalist father. Davis skilfully moves the reader between the timelines of then, involving angry teenager Alex, and now, as newly-freed Alex investigates who actually killed his father and why.
The author’s depiction of the fractious father-son relationship is a strength of the novel. Granted, Alex is truculent and materially spoilt but his divorced parents treat him very poorly. Brought back to France after living for a decade in the US, he feels like a complete outsider and is bullied at school and lectured at home. No one attempts to understand his predicament. When he strikes up a friendship of sorts with Sami, a homeless boy, he is drawn into a world of drugs and increasingly desperate behaviour.
In the second half of the novel, Alex gradually finds the answers to all his questions, notwithstanding the dangers he faces. Whilst based on the author’s research about French journalistic influences – an interesting subject in itself – the concluding sections of the novel felt less convincing and were less absorbing. Overall, whilst some might find the thriller elements satisfying, the depiction of messy familial relationships is what I shall remember ‘The Messenger’ for.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

⚠️ Content warnings: blood, alcohol and drug use, drug dealing, murder, physical assault, profanity, sexual situations including S&M, cheating, mentions of terrorism and war, racism, poverty, corruption, propaganda, derogatory language and slurs, vomiting, self-harm, weapon use (guns and knives), animal cruelty/death, blackmail, suicide, gambling, strangulation, mentions of capital punishment, bullying, police brutality, discrimination and mentions of Nazi imagery ⚠️

It honestly took me a while to get into this book but around the 60% mark when things began to pick up is when my interest increased, and I couldn’t put this book down. It was fascinating to learn more about Paris and its multifaceted nature, as well as the topics discussed within this book, such as socio-economic factors, racism, corruption and use of media for propaganda purposes. I really found it interesting how Alex was portrayed in this book – you go from seeing him as someone who has had things handed to him on a silver platter, but it isn’t enough for him to feeling empathy and admiration for how dedicated he is to finding out what happened to his dad. Then again, I think it’s due to his guilt why he is so motivated to find out what happened to his dad as he is not without blame. However, it never actually states what Alex was charged with.

The transitions between the dual timelines – the then which gives background information on what lead to Alex’s imprisonment and the now which follows Alex through his journey of what happened to his dad - was not as seamless as I wish they would have been. The story was sometimes hard to follow as it would feel like the narrative would change within a chapter but there was no indication. I was confused about some of the things that happened within this book as there’s a particular point where Alex is discussing something with himself, but it flashes back to his conversation with Elena, which is wrote quite confusingly – it had me re-reading the book because it had not been previously mentioned within the book. There was a lot of repetition such as Alex’s dad’s drinking and how it would increase his anger, which I was tired of hearing about. There were also some errors within this book, such as “Gateway to ParisGateway to Paris”, “zone” (should be capitalised), “they said there were faults with the buildings, that they was unsafe” and parts that were missing speech marks.

I was really happy that the ending tied everything up in a bow, however, it didn’t quite pack the punch that I thought it would. I thought there would have been more fall out from what had happened, and it felt like the conclusion was reached quite quickly.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre for the opportunity to read this book!

I have posted this review to my NetGalley and Goodreads accounts. I will also post a review on my Instagram and Tiktok a week before the publication date (30th March 2023). This book will be available to purchase as a hardback for £14.99, an e-book for £7.99 or audiobook for £30.62.

I took a few chapters to get into this book as I didn't know where the book was going initially. Once I persevered the book did pick up the pace and my interest level increased. It was a dark thriller and I found that the author was clever how the protagonist Alex was portrayed. He started out as a disaffected 16 year old who was part of a shocking crime ( or so we thought!) and I didn't feel as much empathy for him. As his character aged and developed more came to light and my opinion of him changed. The conclusion wasn't as explosive as I'd hoped but everything was concluded at the end.

Every major city has a seedy side and The Messenger exposes France's Capital across three discrete periods by the main character, Alex. Before prison, after prison and around the time of his conception. His father Edouard, was brutally murdered and the chief suspect Sami Lantou was effectively framed for it by Alex and his lawyer. Alex was not without blame and his hand in his father's robbery earned him seven years in prison. However, after his release from prison, Alex is determined to uncover the truth behind the murder. For me this was the best part of a rather long novel which did not have a lot of pace. When it was revealed that Edouard was not Alex's biological father it became immediately obvious the author would arrange for the real architect of the murder to be his father. Frankly the novel nose dived when it was discovered what the Ligne Rouge project was all about. I was half expecting a Mad Max type character to pop up on the outskirts of the dystopian architectural project had it not been exposed for what it was and how it was financed. The novel was quickly wrapped with a series of press releases.
I think the novel could have been so much better without the dystopian element creeping in.

Alex is brought as a boy from America to Paris where he grows up. He is a dysfunctional youth and becomes involved in drug taking and selling. He is unable to sustain a proper education and his father has an on/off relationship with him. Then his father is found dead at a time when Alex and a friend are stealing his wallet. Alex wrongly blames the friend for his father’s death when it was neither of him but he too ends up in juvenile custody. Later he tries to solve his father’s death and uncovers an uninteresting illegal business venture. This book is a long read and does move to an exciting climax. Alex is a sad figure but not unique in his problems.

This is a fantastic read with a dual timeline, a compelling storyline and well developed characters that along with the dark and twisted atmosphere, the pacing and the unpredictability made for a truly immersive readig experience.

The Messenger by Megan Davis is a twisty and dark tale set in Paris and as well as a murder mystery exposes the seamier side of the City of Light and it's extreme social divisions, which give the city an almost schizophrenic character.

The book begins with young Alex Giroud speaking to his probation officer after being released from 7 years in prison for the murder of his father,Patrick and claiming that despite pleading guilty at the trial him and his accomplice,Sami Lantou, are innocent. Alex originally claimed that Lantou did the actual killing getting his friend a stiff 25 year sentence while being classed as a minor, only receiving 7 himself.

Alex's story is told in 2 timelines,the first tells of his troubled school days,his descent into criminality with Sami and events leading to the death of his Father while the second involves the newly-released Alex trying to prove his,and more importantly Sami's ,innocence convinced that Patrick was investigating at a story that cost him his life,and that of a fellow journalist friend who followed the trail later.
As Alex tries to unravel the mystery of his Father's death it becomes very obvious that dark forces are watching and trying to warn him off.

This is an excellent read and will be an eye-opener for many who think they know Paris.From the affluent environs of "Zone 1" the Paris of the movies with nice cafes and luxury apartments Alex descends through a series of bad decisions to the parts the French tourist board don't talk about,the outer zones where the homeless and hopeless wash up, the shanties where people live in appalling conditions and the illegal migrants ,unwanted and uninvited,barely scrape a living.

This is an involving book that addresses a number of social and societal issues from exclusion to fake news via corruption ,racism and much else,it never preaches but will make readers think about our imperfect and unfair world,never a bad thing. Of course that would be pointless were it not entertaining and engrossing......which it most definitely is.