Morgane Nairaud

This gripping and wrenching thriller tells the story of Ilan Halimi who was kidnapped for ransom in a Paris suburb. His captors, who dub themselves The Gang of Barbarians, operate under the assumption that his Jewish heritage means he is worth a lot of money. Taking the audience through the harrowing experience of the Halimi family and sharing a searing insight into Ilan's vicious ordeal, the story tracks the massive but futile investigation doomed by near-misses and tragedy that triggered a national outcry. For 24 days the police, insistent upon handling the case as a normal for-ransom kidnapping, failed to recognize the anti-Semitic overtones of the abduction. Faithfully reenacting events from the view of the various characters, Tout, tout de suite raises troubling questions about the state of anti-Semitism and race relations in contemporary France.

Beneath her eccentric appearance, Captain Marleau is a formidable detective. Her Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap, her character, her unusual appearance, her humor, her unpredictable behavior--Captain Marleau is not your average gendarme. She never rushes an investigation; she becomes the investigation and relentlessly pursues the suspects.