Paris expat’s book on female killer art dealer
Added: (Thu Jun 10 2021)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
The remarkable story of a female art dealer who killed on three occasions has been dramatically retold in Peter Lewis’s latest novel.
The Contrescarpe is a thriller spanning almost five decades which centres on the written confession of elderly Vera.
And there is nobody better placed to bring the astonishing events back to life than Canadian journalist Peter Lewis, who personally knew all the main characters.
The now retired war correspondent, who lives in Paris, believes The Contrescarpe is a story that had to be told.
Peter said: “She took a life for the first time as a terrified 15-year-old in the death camps in 1945 - the second in a blind rage against a young German in Paris in 1961 - and the third, in the mercy killing of the person she loved the most in her life.
“She killed three people and got away with it each time.
“She made no effort to cover her tracks - others did that for her.
“Vera, a wealthy art dealer in Brooklyn, finally put her account of the slayings on paper and stipulated her statement be released only after her death.”
Peter’s powerful novel not only details the killings, but it also follows the fortunes of Vera and a Paris detective after her confession is leaked to police.
The Contrescarpe weaves its way through some of the most violent struggles of the 20th century – from the Nazi camp atrocities, and the massacres during Algeria’s struggle for independence, to the retreat of Spanish Republicans into France following the fall of Barcelona.
Peter, whose favourite authors include Ian McEwan, Philip Roth, Jonathan Franzen and Michel Houllebeque, showcases his own ability for storytelling throughout the The Contrescarpe.
While the narrative and historical detail are impressive enough, it is his ability to get beneath the skin of the characters which makes this latest novel so unforgettable.
Peter added: “Much of The Contrescarpe relates to true events in Paris and Algeria in 1961 and 62, and scenes of mayhem in Algiers are largely drawn from my own memory of events.
“The book itself centres on the admission by Vera that she killed three persons in her lifetime and feels not a twinge of regret about it, believing the slayings to be justified.
“Retired Paris detective Manuel Garcin brings her to slowly understand she could have avoided the deaths had she made different choices and that, deep down, what she was seeking with her confession was forgiveness for her acts.”
Peter spent all of his working life as a journalist for newspapers, magazines and agencies, based in some of the world’s most volatile countries.
During one assignment in Cyprus he was wounded by a stray bullet and on another occasion was beaten up by government backers in an African country.
He previously published an autobiographical novel, Cutting Loose, in 2018 in which he recounts covering a hanging in Canada before capital punishment was abolished in 1961.
For more details go to Amazon and search for Peter Lewis, where the paperback and Kindle versions of The Contrescarpe are both available.
Notes to the Editor
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