1.
What is the truth behind the death of a former étoile dancer?

- As the complex puzzle comes together, the true nature of the maddening desire is revealed.

- A new 2022 release from suspense master Guillaume Musso!
- #1 bestseller in France!

"Angelique" is Guillaume Musso's 19th full-length novel to be published in Korea.
Since the publication of "Afterwards" in 2004, all of Guillaume Musso's novels have been number one bestsellers in France.
Her third novel, "Save Me," ranked #1 on Amazon France's bestseller list for 85 consecutive weeks and was listed on the bestseller lists of major domestic bookstores for over 200 weeks.
He has ranked first for eight consecutive years in the best-selling author rankings conducted annually by Le Figaro and the French Booksellers Association.
In 2016, "Will You Be There?" was made into a Korean film and created a huge buzz.
The 2018 novel 『Miss and the Night』 was produced as a six-part drama and aired on the popular broadcaster 『FR2』 in 2022, and many other novels have been made into movies and dramas.
His novels are currently published in 45 countries around the world, drawing widespread sympathy and support from readers.
French media has been praising Guillaume Musso, calling him a phenomenon, a writer who best embodies the term 'page-turner,' and a writer who always surprises readers with plot twists that transcend the limits of imagination.
The New York Times dubbed Guillaume Musso a "master of suspense," and Spain's El Mundo paid homage to the French press's description from a decade ago by saying, "The Guillaume Musso phenomenon continues."


Guillaume Musso has been publishing one novel a year for nearly 20 years as a writer, and his works have become bestsellers not only in France but also around the world.
In the beginning, works that combined romance and fantasy were the main focus, but recently, thrillers have become more prevalent.
If there's a secret to Guillaume Musso's continued popularity for nearly 20 years, it's that he never slackens his efforts to transform himself.
In the past three years, Guillaume Musso has presented very deep and intimate stories about the relationship between writers and their characters in 『The Lady and the Night』, 『The Secret Lives of Writers』, and 『Life is a Novel』.
Guillaume Musso himself calls these three novels, which feature writers as protagonists and focus on the tense relationship between reality and fiction, the "Writer Trilogy."
In France, these three novels were actually published separately.

"Angelique" is a work that announces that Guillaume Musso has returned as a storyteller who skillfully uses twists and suspense in novels that have drawn attention to him.
The story unfolds around nurse Angelique Charvet, who has always lived fiercely but feels that she has no choice but to stay in the same place because the world does not treat her fairly; Mathias Taillefer, a homicide squad leader who does his best to protect female passengers by blocking a knife wielded by a thug on the subway with his whole body, but faces public criticism and even ends up under investigation when he fires a gun during the chase, leaving the thug paralyzed; Louise Collange, a medical student who was abandoned by her birth mother at birth and grew up thinking that her stepmother was her only mother, but when that mother also meets a suspicious death, she jumps into the investigation to uncover the truth herself; and Stella Petrenko, who after much hardship achieves a position as an étoile dancer at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet, but her time in the spotlight and fame is short-lived, and she experiences the pain of fading away behind the scenes.


The characters in "Angelique" all carry wounds that are difficult to heal, just like we all live our lives hiding at least one secret.
While some people suture the wounds properly, apply medicine to prevent them from festering, and heal them cleanly, using them as a foundation for growth, for others, they become obstacles that hinder healthy and smooth growth.
For example, Angelique's case can be seen as the latter.
Angelique is a character with a distorted set of values, believing that because she has lived hard, she deserves a place in the world, and that because that place is already occupied by someone else, she can take it away by any means necessary.

Guillaume Musso features a variety of characters in Angelique, but does not attempt to evaluate or define them by any specific standards.
I am simply faithfully following them as they walk along the road, observing them and recording the results as a witness.
By observing various characters in three dimensions, I try to picture the wounds they suffered during their formative years, and observe what physical or chemical reactions occur when those wounds meet other wounds. I do not actively step forward and give advice on what would be good to do this or that.
In a way, Guillaume Musso may be trying to paint a partial self-portrait of an era by holding a magnifying glass over various parts of the world we live in.
"Angelique" is a novel of twists and turns that unfolds between Paris and Venice, with characters each with their own unique personalities, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.


2.
When narcissistic desire meets opportunity, an unstoppable tragedy begins.

Stella Petrenko, a former étoile dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet, falls to her death from her sixth-floor home.
The police investigation found that the front door, the only exit into the house, was firmly locked, and there were no signs of intrusion from the outside, so they concluded that it was a simple fall and closed the investigation.
The police's conclusion of accidental death seems very reasonable and plausible, as the autopsy revealed that Stella had been drinking Burgundy wine and smoking marijuana on the very day she died.
Stella's daughter Louise cannot accept the police's conclusion that the death was due to accidental injury, so she goes to see Matthias, the former head of the violent crimes unit, and asks him to reinvestigate the case.
Mathias and Louise bicker and clash, but they work together to find the puzzle pieces that will unlock the secret behind Stella's death.


Stella, whose dream was to become an étoile dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet, has been dedicated to arduous training since childhood. Although she suffers severe injuries to her back and knees in a motorcycle accident, she successfully rehabilitates through superhuman efforts.
As a result, he becomes an étoile dancer, the highest rank in the Paris Opera Ballet, and receives the dazzling spotlight, but the glory is short-lived, and he must retire and step down from the stage again.
Stella, an étoile dancer who was happy despite the aftereffects of her injury and the pain all over her body due to the cheers and attention of the audience almost every day, feels an unbearable sadness when faced with the reality of having to go back to being an ordinary person.
Now, as Stella must acknowledge and accept that the light of glory and joy is gone forever, the deep darkness that she must endure in her life draws near.


Mathias Tailuper, a former head of the violent crimes unit, has a personality that cannot tolerate injustice.
Mathias is stabbed on a train from Paris to Aullay-sous-Bois while trying to stop three young men with knives from threatening a young woman.
Mathias, badly injured, gets off at the next station and chases after the fleeing youths, shooting at Elias Abbes, who is wielding a knife.
Elias, who was shot in the spine, is paralyzed and will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
As public criticism of Matthias mounts, he is discovered to have a serious heart condition while receiving treatment for a stab wound.
I can't survive without a heart transplant.
Fortunately, Matthias undergoes surgery and returns to the violent crimes unit, but due to severe aftereffects, he loses the trust of his colleagues and is forced to retire early.


Angelique Charvet, a practicing nurse, is a person with a particularly strong narcissism who will use any means necessary to achieve her goals.
He is kind, cheerful, and sociable, and gets along well with those around him, but he rarely shows his true feelings, and he willingly becomes a chameleon to achieve his desires.
I live in a rented apartment in Ole-sous-Bois, an hour away from Paris by metro, and I commute to work every day on a crowded subway.
Although she appears to be an ordinary person on the outside, Angelique's hidden narcissism is extremely dangerous.


Marco Sabatini, the sole heir to the luxury fashion brand Acquaalta, is devastated after his twin sister Livia dies in an accident and wanders for a long time.
He is a character who paints despite his father's opposition and uses drugs.
Marco's paintings gradually gained recognition from Parisian galleries and collectors, but an unimaginable event occurred while he was hospitalized with COVID-19.

Romuald Leblanc is so good with computers that he is called a digital geek.
He lives across from Stella's apartment and once conspired with Stella to film and blackmail her.
He demonstrates his outstanding computer skills and greatly assists Matthias in his investigations.


The characters in this novel each have their own dreams and goals, but the world doesn't readily give them the places they want.
The characters' efforts to achieve their goals unfold in various ways.
Stella works hard and tears, Angelique is always ready to transform for her goal, Mathias is investigated for doing what he should as a police officer, and Louise is abandoned by her biological mother and thinks her stepmother is her mother, but in the end, she loses her again.
Marco is the heir to a luxury brand, but he rebels against his father's rebuke and stubbornly pursues the path of a painter, while Romuald shuts himself in his room and becomes engrossed in his computer after his father's unjust death.
『Angelique』 is a novel that unfolds with characters with diverse personalities coming together.
It is especially interesting to see which character, each with their own impressive life experiences, will find true happiness and love.


This novel combines an unpredictable and captivating story, a fast-paced plot, surprising twists and turns, and ingenious ideas, taking readers on a journey into a vast imaginative world.
This novel is a testament to Guillaume Musso's 20 years of accumulated experience, shining with a mature charm.