Mathilde a disparu - Leno Solveig
The frantic phone call to the police station in Carvin (north France) comes from Mathilde's worried parents, and as brigadier-chef Rémy interviews the young woman's neighbours, work colleagues and former boyfriend Théo, it quickly becomes apparent that there is indeed good reason for concern. Abduction doesn't seem to be the reason for her disappearance, as it becomes apparent that Mathilde was suffering from stress and depression in several aspects of her private life and struggling at work, but it is clear that she is a vulnerable person and there is reason to fear for what might have happened to her.
That much is laid out fairly methodically in a procedural manner, although Solveig varies how each testimony is delivered. Some take place in the form of straightforward dialogue exchange between the police detective and the person he is interviewing, without even providing descriptions or actions or indications even on who is speaking or how they are reacting(non-reactions come as '...') - but it still effectively conveys information and suggestion. Other chapters are in the form of a first-person or third-person monologue testimony, again letting the person speaking about Mathilde reveal as much about themselves and their impressions by their choice of words and situations.
The testimonies and interviews all add up to provide a picture of a solitary young woman having inter-personal and work related difficulties, lacking connections with her colleagues and struggling to fit in. It builds up a picture of someone, secretive and withdrawn, not sharing or open with people, keeping to herself. The deeper underlying psychological aspects are probed also in her difficult relationship with father and her on-off relationship with her boyfriend Théo. It seems quite possible that she simply couldn't cope and had chosen to disappear, escaping from it all. All that sounds very methodical in how it builds up a psychological profile of Mathilde - and it is methodically laid out - but it still retains an edge of mystery and potential for it to develop into something more, which is indeed the case when Mathilde's car is discovered still in the office car park with a blood stain on the seat.
Although there is some element of reflection some on the part of the testimonies, some on the part of brigadier-chef Rémy, who is investigating the case and sees elements that he can relate to himself, half way through the novel does break away from this procedural aspect of testimony, interview and investigation. Without wanting to say much about how, Mathilde a disparu does take on more of an edge of urgency as other elements come into play, as the groundwork solidifies into forming a clearer picture of what the police are dealing with, and an escalating series of events takes over.
I might be the only person who thinks this way, but I preferred the earlier part of the novel, the gradual unfolding of the mystery and the building up of a profile of the missing woman and the world that she lives in. That's not to say that I found the latter half of the book where we discover what really happened to be lacking in any way. The author does provide a necessary convincing rationale and resolution that most readers will find lives up to the background that has been methodically laid-out. I think that's more of an indication that the book is well-balanced and mostly realistic in its combination of psychological profiling, police investigation and thriller elements.
Reading notes: Mathilde a disparu by Leno Solveig is published in France by Michel Lafon, originally in 2025. I read the 2026 'poche' pocket paperback edition that I picked up on my most recent trip to Paris. I think the origins of the book go back further than this and it looks like it may have originally been self-published around 2020, which is the year that the story is set in (without any mentions of a Covid epidemic) before being picked up by Michel Lafon.
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