Patrick Hémonnot
Patrick Hémonnot, a mathematics professor, spent most of his professional career in Troyes. In this debut novel, he first immerses us in the heart of the Bassigny, the remote region of Haute-Marne where he was born. The narrative then takes us to Troyes in the early 1990s; the hosiery-making city was then experiencing the looming decline of the textile industry.
June 1944. As the weeks of German occupation seem numbered, life in a small town in southern Haute-Marne is suddenly shaken by two tragic events: a newly formed resistance group is decimated, and simultaneously, a wave of arrests by the Gestapo sweeps through the local population. Is there a connection between the two events? There is no doubt about the reasons for the massacre of the young resistance fighters: they were victims of betrayal. Cécile, the hardware store owner's daughter, is deeply scarred. After the Liberation, like many of her loved ones, she thirsts for truth and justice. Who is this somewhat taciturn carpenter, a stranger in the region? Will the betrayal go unpunished? Publication date: March 1, 2024. Order now
