Gwenaël Bulteau

Maudite soit la guerre

March 5, 2026
Polar historique
280 pages
20,90 €
9782385533113
978-2-3855-3311-3
																Gwenaël Bulteau, Maudite soit la guerre
																Gwenaël Bulteau, Maudite soit la guerre

1917. Paris is a city transformed by the Great War. Soldiers on leave wander the streets, while women keep the wheels of the economy turning. Fear of German spies, patriotic fervor, and the hunt for deserters cast a shadow over every alley and marketplace.

Jeanne, a young actress, dreams of the stage—and of escaping the confines of her world. She loves Maxence, an apprentice at Les Halles, eager to answer the call of duty and follow in his father’s footsteps. But when a brutal murder shakes their neighborhood, Commissioner Soubielle steps in—and what he uncovers is far from ordinary. Buried family secrets, divided loyalties, and the pressures of an era where every choice can conceal betrayal threaten to unravel everything.

In Maudite soit la guerre, Gwenaël Bulteau delivers a masterful saga of family, crime, and the human heart under siege, plunging readers into a little-known, breathless Paris where history and personal destiny collide.

The author

Born in 1973, Gwenaël Bulteau is a school teacher. In 2017, he won the short story prize at the Quais du Polar festival, and his first novel won the Landerneau Polar Prize, the Sang d’encre Prize and the Vendée Writers’ Prize. After La République des faibles and Le Grand soir, published by La Manufacture, Malheur aux vaincus is his third novel.

Highlights

Following the success of Malheur aux vaincus (more than 10,000 copies sold), the new novel from a leading voice in historical crime fiction.

An author acclaimed by the press and winner of several awards, including the 2021 Landerneau Polar Prize.

A fictional immersion in the midst of World War I: an original angle on the action, strong female characters, and a captivating police investigation.

March 5, 2026
Polar historique
280 pages
20,90 €
9782385533113
978-2-3855-3311-3