Consequences : a novel /

With a knack for seducing his pretty female students, Marc, a writing and literature professor at a French university, gets in over his head when one of his conquests dies in his bed. Fearing ridicule and disgrace, he disposes of her body in a wooded pit, setting off a series of emotional and very real consequences. First, the police come sniffing for clues, then the girl's seductive stepmother surfaces, and Marc's romantic entanglement with her complicates his situation further; all the while he must manage the mood swings of his emotionally dependent sister, Marianne. The story hints at Marianne and Marc's disturbing and abusive childhood, which elicits both terror and sympathy. Celebrated French author Djian writes a vivid and captivating psychological thriller about immorality, deceit, and the complications of physical and emotional love. Ruth Rendell fans will be captivated.--Paulson, Heather Copyright 2010 Booklist

Most readers should have no problem accepting the implausible premise of this wonderfully trashy stand-alone from Djian (Unforgivable). Marc, a creative-writing professor at a rural French university, has discovered one of the great perks of the job: the easy availability of willing young women. One evening he picks up a 23-year-old student, Barbara, and takes her back to his house, which he shares with his sister, Marianne. The next morning he discovers Barbara dead. After disposing of her body, Marc tries to resume his life. His reputation for seducing his female students is well-known on campus, but the lothario raises eyebrows when he becomes romantically involved with Barbara's 46-year-old stepmother, Myriam. As he becomes more attached to Myriam-and as Marianne becomes involved with the head of the university's literature department-tensions at home rise. The action builds to an explosive ending, and Marc must confront his relationship with his sister and their troubled past. Agent: Jeff Posternak, Wylie Agency. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Djian (Unforgivable, 2010, etc.) provides further insights into what randy French academics are up to when they're not deconstructing everything. Marc has long since accommodated himself to the fact that he's a mediocre writer. Since those who can't, teach, he's settled into giving writing workshops at a French university and taking occasional students to bed. These little affairs of the heart are all part of the perks of being a professor, he tells himself, and things seem to go perfectly well until he wakes up one morning to find his latest conquest dead in his bed. In fact, according to Marc's disturbingly affectless narration, things go pretty well after that, at least for a while. He disposes of the body in a deep, secret pool known only to himself and his sister Marianne; the police inquiries into the disappearance of Barbara, as Marc eventually remembers her name to be, are pro forma; and when Myriam Machinchose, Barbara's new stepmother, shows up on campus to learn more about the stepdaughter she'd barely met, Marc ends up in bed with her with remarkably little fuss and even less reflection. The only cloud on the horizon, it would seem, is Annie Eggbaum, a hopeless writing student with a great body, boundless self-confidence and a father right out of The Sopranos. Annie keeps throwing herself at Marc, and the combination of her enticements, her threats and the beatings Marc gets from her father's thugs is so persuasive that eventually, he's bound to give in, despite the fact that he's still continuing his affair with Myriam. The women in Marc's life increasingly blend together in his memory and desire until the inevitable consequences. Bold, elliptical, fashionably inconclusive and very French.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.