In his first novel, “Kepone,” Philippe Godoc takes us from Virginia to Guadeloupe and Hatti as he tells a captivating story based on the chlordecone scandal.
Marc Montroy, a young dilettante journalist, finally gets a big break with a story about the chlordecone crisis in the West Indies. Metis, originally from Guadeloupe, his research for the story takes him to Hopewell, the chemical capital of Virginia, then to his native island. At first, he thought he’d work on the story while enjoying the company of his family and friends, but finds himself in the middle of a dangerous saga where the bad guys have no problem permanently silencing those who talk too much. The murders start piling up one after the other, and Marc only wants to get away from this island where his life is being threatened. But caught between the independentists and the wealthy businessmen of the French Antilles, there is no easy way out if he wants to save his life. He is forced to carry his inquiry to the very end and gets enmeshed in a scandal involving public health and politics that goes beyond his expectations.
“Kepone” is a captivating police novel that touches on human trafficking and pollution of the soil caused by chlordecone—the toxic insecticide sold under the brand name Kepone and used for decades at banana plantations on the islands—as well as the reaction of the authorities and the struggle for power. A non-filtered description of the dysfunctional nature of West Indian society and the traffic of all sorts that takes place between the Caribbean islands. The fast-paced plot carries the reader into a hellish vortex.
Auteur : Emmanuelle Descoraux.
