Review: The truth about the Harry Quebert case

«The truth about the Harry Quebert case” of Joel Dicker It had been ringing in my head for a long time, the 2013 novel had become a small literary phenomenon of what many reviews called a thriller, however, that label does not fit me in the genre in which this novel could be, Well, its development is not hectic at all and maintains a rather slow pace, so I think it is a typical crime novel. But the previous reason does not mean in any way that the text does not keep the reader expectant about the events it narrates.

The novel of Joel Dicker It takes place in three different times, 1975, 1998 and 2008, located mainly in the Aurora – New Hampshire region; place where the events occur. Marcus Goldmanan aging writer has lost inspiration and suffers from blank page syndrome, so he decides to visit his mentor, Harry Quebert who resides in Aurora, hoping to find a reason to start his new book and silence the pressing voices of his editor and manager, but everything goes wrong when he discovers that his mentor and dear friend had a relationship in 1975 with Zero Kellergan, a 15-year-old teenager, while he was over 30 years old. But things can get murkier when Harry Quebert is accused of murdering that teenager, who was believed to have disappeared in 1975.

«The truth about the Harry Quebert case» It would seem like another book about «Who killed…?», and that’s right, the same premise of a murder that occurred many years ago that rises from the grave to recover revenge. A very seen plot that Joel Dicker knows how to exploit very well, creating an atmosphere of mystery that manages to capture the viewer and then push him into an intelligent narrative full of plot twists that will take the most seasoned detective reader by surprise, perhaps too many twists, however, they help the reader to distrust of all the characters and does not make it easy to identify the murderer.

As for the characters, there are many, as is usually natural in this type of novel, they all revolve around Harry Quebert and Nolla Kellergan, they are well created and differentiated, each with their respective place in the town and their actions in the different times in which the narrative takes place. The best thing is that most of them have their secrets and motivations for having murdered Nolla, making it difficult for the reader to find a credible culprit.

Marcus Goldman It will be Virgilio leading us by the hand through a hell of secrets that hide the death of a teenager while he fights with his own demons to manage to write his new book and not become the failure that the future predicts for him. Marcus carries the entire story on his shoulders and is the eyes of the reader in that town alarmed by the discovery that Harry Quebert killed Nolla Kellergan, and that he also had a forbidden relationship with her, a minor while he was in his thirties. Marcus serves as the investigative detective and it is through him that we get to know the characters and it is his dialogues that little by little shed light on the case, it is these conversations that the author uses to give the reader a clue about the truth, but that it also uses as a trap to divert attention and give unexpected plot twists, a great achievement within a narrative that must maintain the logic of the events without them seeming forced or annoying “deus ex machina” arising.

But not everything seems wonderful to me, Joel Dicker fails in an element that is too important to be overlooked, and that is that, although it is true that the plot twists are important to surprise and generate interest in the reader, it is no less true that it uses this resource too much so that it becomes exhausted. , so it leads to an ending that is not up to the bulk of the narrative, especially if we are talking about an extensive novel. I also missed a good villain, although of course this is not a thriller, but it would have been necessary to place a murderer with stronger motives.

«The truth about the Harry Quebert case» is a novel that can be read, with a narrative that easily engages thanks to the way in which Joel Dicker It manages to maintain the intrigue, but has an ending that could disappoint many, but that is in no way a reason not to be captivated by the story.