Franck Thilliez - Syndrome E

“A tour de force… A captivating plot that keeps the reader in his seat until the final moments.”

Franck Thilliezis the author of several bestselling novels in his native France. This is his first novel to be translated into English in the United States. He lives in Paris.

Mark Polizzottiis the translator of more than thirty books from the French. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal and The Nation . He lives in New York City.

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,

Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland

(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell,

Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre,

Panchsheel Park, New Delhi–110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632,

New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,

Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published in 2012 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Copyright © Editions Fleuve Noir, Department d’Univers Poche, 2010

Translation copyright © Mark Polizzotti, 2012

All rights reserved

Originally published in French under the title Le Syndrome E by Editions Fleuve Noir, Department d’Univers Poche, Paris.

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA

Thilliez, Franck.

[Syndrome E. English]

Syndrome E / Franck Thilliez ; translated by Mark Polizzotti.

p. cm.

ISBN: 978-1-101-60117-4

1. Detectives—France—Fiction. 2. Evil in motion pictures—Fiction. 3. Subliminal perception—Fiction. 4. Violence—Fiction. 5. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. I. Polizzotti, Mark. II. Title.

PQ2720.H58S9613 2012

843’.92—dc23

2012004718

Printed in the United States of America

Set in Minion Pro

Designed by Francesca Belanger

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic

form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted

materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

ALWAYS LEARNING