Specimen

A childminder’s teenage son is accused of an unthinkable crime against children, a writer’s obsession to unravel to truth – the conversation-starting French literary word-of-mouth sensation about one of the biggest issues of our time

In Marseille, Mina is working as a childminder and trying to rebuild her life after escaping an abusive relationship. But when her 19-year-old son Rafael is arrested, accused of an unthinkable crime against several children, her world shatters. Mina seemingly gives Rafaels diary to a writer whose son she looks after, and the writer becomes obsessed with the case – and what it triggers for her about the disappearance of a troubled childhood friend.

As Rafael’s trial unfolds, and conflicting versions of the truth emerge, his moral ambiguity confounds everyone. Is he a victim – or a perpetrator?

Specimen is a gripping blend of psychological thriller and social drama, told partly through Rafaels diary entries, the courtroom and police interviews, and also through the writer’s past, which comes into focus in a shocking way as the trial reaches its climax. With journalistic precision and unwavering empathy for her characters, Pauline Clavière excavates the darkest corners of the human soul.