Aim¿Joubert is a drop-dead gorgeous femme fatale with a penchant for bloody murder. Ever on the lookout for opportunities for self-enrichment, she finds plenty to like as a newcomer to the detestable backwater town of Bl¿lle: small-minded parochialism, self-interested parish politics, rampant corruption, dormant grudges, scandals just waiting to be uncovered - yes, there's a killing to be made here. So Aim¿starts to wreak her stylish mayhem on Bl¿lle's despicable bourgeoisie. But just when she's ready to take them all to the cleaners, something snaps, and the master manipulator falls prey to her wayward passions.A legend of the genre, Jean-Patrick Manchette transformed the modern crime thriller into something slick, chic and riotously enjoyable. A tornado of redemptive murder and a gleeful satire of small-town life, Fatale is Manchette's bloodiest, funniest and most brilliantly cathartic thriller yet.

Jean Patrick Manchette (1942-1995) rescued the French crime novel from the grip of Maigret and methodical police procedurals - restoring the noir edge by virtue of his post-1968 leftism. Jazz saxophonist, political activist, and screenwriter, Manchette was influenced as much by Guy Debord as by Dashiell Hammett. He remains an inspiration to the new generation of French mystery writers who have come in his wake.