The Messenger by Megan Davis
Wealthy and privileged, Alex has an easy path to success in the Parisian elite. But he and his domineering father 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.
In the heart of Paris, against a backdrop of corruption, fake news and civil unrest, The Messenger is a mind-racing new thriller that follows one son's journey to find redemption and expose the truth.
About the author
Megan Davis was born in Australia and grew up in mining towns across the world. She has worked in the film industry and her credits include Atonement, In Bruges, Pride and Prejudice and the Bourne films. Megan is also a lawyer and is currently an associate at Spotlight on Corruption. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Her debut The Messenger won the Bridport Prize for a First Novel in 2018, judged by Kamila Shamsie, as well as the Lucy Cavendish Prize for unpublished writers in 2021. She has lived in many places, including France for a number of years, but now lives in London.
Review
‘The Messenger’ is a complex thriller that sneaks up on you and hits you in your solar plexus! It's was a delicious slow burn of a story that when the action kicks in you are thrown into chaos and misdirection. I loved this book. I'm a sucker for books which are set in my favourite city but this was also a brilliant thriller that managed to draw me into Alex’s story from the first page.
Alex has grown up in a wealthy and privileged household both in Paris and America. But he and his father have never really gotten along and now he is starting to push his boundaries by partying and escaping to the streets of Paris. There he meets Sami and is drawn into street life where one does what one needs to do to survive. But there are consequences of their actions and one decision is going to change the rest of their lives. Alex suggests that they steal from his apartment but things go wrong and Alex’s father is found dead. Despite both boys saying they are innocent they are imprisoned anyhow. When Alex is released seven years later he is determined to work out what happened that night and as he searches for answers he manages to uncover something that ruffles a lot of feathers!
This was told in a dual timeframe with the point of view of Alex firstly at the time running up to that fateful night and after he has been released from prison. They swap as the story progresses and although it's a slow meander in the first half of the book the tension and pace pick up in the latter half! But I was gripped through the whole book and enjoyed it all as you got to know a very nuanced character in Alex. I really liked Alex. I thought his quest for justice was both thought-provoking but also exciting for a reader.
The book looks at a few socials issues in Paris - the socioeconomic differences between central Paris and the suburbs, the rise of migration and how their lives look like in a developed country, and the rise of the far-right in France, racism in general and the corruption in society. How this all matters to Alex’s story, well I will let you discover that!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
