The Woman In the Fifth

May 23, 2011
The latest in a wave of Kennedy novels to be published in the states in rapid succession (The Moment; etc.) creates a tense sense of unease as a shamed man starting over in Paris realizes he can't hide from his past. Harry Ricks is a disgraced professor from the Midwest, whose indiscretions with a student have lost him his job and marriage. He flees to Paris and finds a squalid tenement to live in and a dodgy job as a watchman for an illegal business he resolves to know nothing about. Things start to look up after he begins an affair with a mysterious woman named Margit Kadar, but soon bad things start happening to the people who have caused Harry problems in his past, bringing unwanted attention from the police. When he uncovers the truth about what's going on and realizes how enmeshed he is in a very bizarre scheme, he quickly realizes he may never be able to extricate himself. The twist itself is a bit of a stretch, but once the reader accepts it, the story goes to some strange and rewarding places before stalling out at the end, as if Kennedy isn't sure where, exactly, to go. It's an unfortunately meek ending to an otherwise intriguing novel.