JG Ballard's Super-Cannes is a crime story set near Cannes in the South of France. Most of the action takes place in and around the Eden-Olympia business park, a closed community where Jane, a paediatrician, has taken a short-term contract. Her husband Paul, who is convalescing after a flying accident, tells the story.
Prior to the couple's arrival the previous paediatrician had run amok and killed 10 people, and as Jane becomes more engrossed in her work, Paul becomes obsessed with finding out what had provoked the bloody massacre.
I liked much of Ballard's style of writing, especially his descriptions, however the dialogue occasionally felt forced. There were a couple of points at which characters seemed to make implausible decisions, briefly rendering the plot far-fetched. In addition, the more I read, the more male-centric the book became. It seemed that the female characters were there primarily to titillate the reader.
In spite of these niggles, I really enjoyed the story, its premise, and how Paul slowly uncovers the recreational activities of Eden-Olympia's high-flying executives whilst pursuing his amateur investigation.
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