I picked up 'C'est la loi!' expecting a classic legal potboiler, but Du Veuzit and Lomelar deliver something much richer. It's a story that proves the most dangerous crimes often happen far from a courtroom.

The Story

Charles Derville is a principled but inexperienced lawyer handed what looks like a simple inheritance dispute. The wealthy Comte de La Rochefoucauld has died, leaving his fortune to a distant, obscure relative, much to the fury of his closer family. Charles's job is to prove the will is valid. But as he interviews the furious relatives and investigates the beneficiary, a quiet woman named Hélène, he finds contradictions everywhere. Old photographs go missing, witnesses change their stories, and a decades-old scandal begins to surface. The case stops being about law and starts being about truth—and whether anyone really wants it to come out.

Why You Should Read It

Forget flashy trials. The tension here is psychological and claustrophobic. You feel Charles's growing unease as polite society masks vicious intentions. Hélène is a fantastic character—is she a victim or a clever manipulator? The authors masterfully build doubt. I loved how the 'law' of the title becomes ironic; it's about the unwritten rules of family, honor, and secrecy that truly govern these people's lives. It's a slow burn, but the final unraveling of the secret is deeply satisfying.

Final Verdict

This is a perfect pick for readers who enjoy mid-century European suspense in the vein of Simenon, but with a more literary touch. It's for anyone who finds family dramas more gripping than car chases. If you like mysteries where the setting—post-war France, with its fading aristocracy—is a character itself, you'll be hooked. Just be warned: you'll start looking at your own family stories a little sideways after this.