The Contrescarpe by Peter Lewis (2021, 298 pps.)
Reviewed by: Patricia M. Muhammad
Date: April 17, 2021

*I received The Contrescarpe ebook in exchange for an honest review

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
(For general summary without discussion of plot, skip to the last paragraph of this review)

The story begins in the present with a European woman who resides in Brooklyn, New York, sending a letter to her lawyer with instructions that the sealed contents are not to be revealed until upon her death. She and the lawyer have a fiscal dispute. In a bout of revenge, he sends the murder confessions which occurred over three decades to the police. She claims in her written confession that she believes each murder she committed was justified. As the story unravels, the reader will notice that each one is related to the atrocities committed as result of Hitler's rise and attempt to exterminate the Jews. The New York police department forwards the letter to the French authorities as at least one murder occurred in France. Here begins the odyssey in which France becomes the primary setting of the investigation. The author presents the storyline as a dossier of facts, contrary to what the French authorities of the present mention. They consider that they have not much evidence to pursue these decades' old crimes, one of which occurs at the Place de la Contrescarpe, a café, in Paris, France. After much narrative, the author outlines the lives of diverse people both in language and nationality whose lives will converge in one place, Paris, as a result of murder. Some of the characters are:

Vera Kerner: A Hungarian Jewish woman who is also a rape victim, befriends a young girl, Agi, while they are transported from Budapest to a prison camp and saves her by informing her to lie about her age to avoid soldiers sending her to the gas chambers. She visits Paris, France before years later calling Brooklyn, New York her home for several years. Vera is likely the author of the murder confession as the author unravels a part of her ordeal of a Romanian approaching her in the kitchen in an attempt to rape or murder her. She defends herself by obtaining a knife and killing the man. A similar incident is mention in the letters. At some point Vera travels to Tel Aviv, Israel. She is seeks to comradery and a sense of community which she hopes will provide her a sense of identity. Although she is a Jew of European descent, she soon realizes that she does not fit there as well. Vera is repulsed by the Israeli official's hostile nature and considers leaving before officially entering. Eventually the other officials allow her entry. She is reunited with the young girl she saved from the gas chambers in Auschwitz, Agi. She guides Vera to a Jewish sect for her to obtain a sense of community. Vera is not comfortable with the way she is treated as an immigrant Jew by those whom she presumably would have an affinity with—especially when they prioritize obtaining her money for communal use instead of securing her as an émigré. Vera uses her award money to help Agi with therapy. The author foreshadows that because they share trauma, that they would become each other's mental and emotional detriment. Both reminisce over trauma that morphs into a twisted affinity for one another. Just as Agi helped Vera adjust to her temporal life in Tel Aviv, Vera will assert that she was helping Agi to end her life.

Erwin Schmidt: A German born male who never became an outstanding or normal man no matter what country he visited or lived. He had a reputation for raping co-eds—and any other woman. He is known for violent brawls and engaging with fringe crowds and racist nationalist groups.

Manuel Garcin: A lad of Spanish descent who hopes to survive with his mother in the midst of national conflict. He does not remember much of about his father, Joaquin who was barely present in his life as a child. After the fall of Barcelona, he is herded to France along with his mother, Alicia. One day his mother does not return to the home they made for themselves after the war by renting a tenement from Alicia's "former friend" Veronica. He is orphaned, gangly but intelligent and eventually becomes a ward of the nation state. Years after Manuel pursues his studies "…was assigned to the famed criminal brigade on the Quai des Orfevres, the youngest investigator to ever make it to the Crim’." Manuel and his associates conclude that his mother was murdered and the motive was related to his father's participation in the resistance against French colonialism in Algeria.

David Blake: Englishman/Brit who during the World War II nearly dies from a soldier stabbing him in the neck, but lives after receiving adequate medical treatment. He survives being present in an area struck by a V2 bomber with a horrible gash above his eye as a constant reminder. He ends up in Paris, France decades later and relocates from a dingy small hotel to a room above a cabaret where he obtains gainful employment. He uses his status to become a womanizer. One night an Algerian hands him a gun for safekeeping…He meets some of the other characters and he along with the others have an eerie feeling about Erwin. Though he seems nice a guy, he as well as much as the other Europeans seem to never obtain a stable life or romantic relationship, except for Thomas. Though nearly all the characters have most of their trysts while residing in Paris, which has been known historically for 'sexual freedom', not one of them are originally from that country. Nearly all, except Manuel and Thomas who are the most stable, waver in their emotions, their acceptance of the traumatic experiences they have experienced. David's life is steered in another direction after the murder at the Contrescarpe when he is smuggled out of France to London. David resumes his prior job as a newspaper reporter and goes to Algiers to cover the ongoing conflict. The rest of his narrative concerns his journalism career covering the continued conflict in Algiers (Algeria) concerning this country's struggle for independence from France. The one character who appeared to be the most laid-back and apolitical is thrusted in the middle of a different international conflict in which his country of origin is not a participant.

Robert: An American introduced at the beginning of the murder tale who heralded the two other people (not telling) who were present at the scene before he arrived. He rented a room on the same floor as David just above where David worked.

Thomas Heisler, son of Urlike: Jewish man who as a boy witnesses his mother get raped by members of the Russian Red Army as well as a young girl in one of the cabins while they were being transported via train to Auschwitz. Urlike gets married and have two additional children. Thomas and his mother never speak of the trauma they endured. He is already acquainted with Erwin though is not familiar with his past. Thomas introduces Erwin to the gathering of the characters are presented at the Contrescarpe. As the story unfolds, the reader realizes that Thomas is the murder victim.

As with their experiences during World War II, the author provides insight into a few of the characters' political leanings. Exclusive of romantic relationships, David, the Englishman seems to be of the middling, similar to Thomas and Manuel. However, as a British man in France, he takes note of the political hostilities between French Algerians and France's government. He witnesses French police brutality against the Muslim Algerians and wonders why they are being treated this way. As David is not part of the conflict, he believes his continued presence in France is forcing him to "choose" sides. It is not clear whether the passively presented choice is either politics or religion, but still David is able to live his life as he chooses despite the unwanted and unnecessary societal draw. He is a man more preoccupied with living life each day, he even matures away from flings. At some point, David realizes that he is capable of a monogamous relationship with a young woman named. The author describes Florence's parents as: "France's caviar left, wealthy bourgeois who earned a conscience for themselves by voting Socialist and supporting Third World causes while living the good life themselves." This will prove crucial as David continues his investigative reporting into the Algerian conflict. David is also suspicious of Erwin and is able to readily discern that Erwin was the embodiment of political and racial mischief as he kept company with extremists and had an affinity to support the Third Reich.

The Contrescarpe is a complicated and detailed historical mystery novel. It is extraordinary in the sense that it is in the beginning of the novel that the author chooses to reveal who the murderer is. Yet the author provides meticulous details of each character's background, informing the reader of how they grew into the person presented on that fateful day of the murder. For instance, Manuel, he grew up in hardship, yet he was quite intelligent with leanings towards law and criminal justice. He becomes (likely-I have to finish reading) the primary investigator of the murder at the café. The author is able to provide a helpful sketch of both the characters and the influences in their lives, including the different environments they mostly involuntarily find themselves emerged in to provide the reader with the dossier that the French Polis never seemed to originally possess. Lewis uses trauma and psychological innuendo in relation to the various concentration and prison camps established by the Hitler regime in order for the reader to trace the motive or underlying cause of each murder. However, the potential reader should be aware that this novel has graphic content. This includes horrific details of rape throughout the period later designated as the Holocaust, butchered bodies, and generally death. Other graphic content includes 'potty-mouth' humour, specific descriptions of intimate scenes that are not suitable for most adolescents or teenagers. Though I am only vaguely familiar with mystery author Agatha Christie's work, The Contrescarpe is reminiscent of Murder on the Orient Express, but in a good way. Lewis' writing is rich with historical details. He describes his characters with depth and despite the discomfort that readers may feel with the fictionalized real accounts, the reader is able to walk through the tunnel of each character's life and arrive at the scene of the murder at the Contrescarpe, satisfied with the result. ( )