Where Would I Be Without You? - Guillaume Musso

Martin meets Gabrielle whilst working in San Francisco for a few months after finishing his law degree. They share a brief but life-changing love affair that lasts just days, and then it ends when he returns to France. Neither of them ever forgets the other. Years later, Martin is now working in Paris as a police detective tracking down art thieves, and there is one in particular, the greatest one in the world, going by the name of Archibald McLean, who he is determined to catch. Meanwhile, Martin wonders what has happened to Gabrielle over the years, as he has never again felt in love as he did with her, and feels she is what has been missing from his life. Is there any way that there is a connection between her and the case he is working on?

I found this a fairly quick read due to the style, the action moves on quickly and often there are short paragraphs or sections skipping between one scene and another, jumping back for example from what Martin is doing to where Archie is and back again. This gives the novel a good pace and keeps the reader engaged as the pursuit progresses.

The two main settings are Paris and San Francisco and I found the author used these well in creating an impressive backdrop for the story. The novel is written in three parts, with the final third taking an unexpected and unusual turn. This story combines romance, a bit of a thriller, and elements of the supernatural or magical. I enjoyed this and it was a bit of a different read for me, having the different elements to the story that it did, and I felt it was a very good English translation of the original French.