Autopsie d'une erreur judiciaire. Le procureur de la République, Jean Berthier, demeure inerte alors qu'il est le seul témoin de la noyade accidentelle d'une jeune fille dans le Rhône. Le parquet est saisi de l'affaire qui prend bientôt l'apparence d'un crime dont l'instruction est confiée au procureur. Comment ce magistrat vertueux, sincère et d'une scrupuleuse intégrité, a-t-il pu agir ainsi ? Voulant à tout prix " sauver la face ", il n'ose pas, par l'aveu de sa lâcheté, perdre le prestige qu'il a conquis aux yeux de tous et parvient, de bonne foi, à l'oubli progressif de la scène dont il a été témoin. Dès lors, il est pris dans un inexorable engrenage qui le conduira jusqu'au bout de l'ivresse du pouvoir judiciaire, mettant ainsi à nu l'effroyable contradiction que tout homme porte en lui. Un roman haletant et fascinant jusqu'à la dernière page.
Author
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. Pierre Boulle (20 February 1912 – 30 January 1994) was a French novelist best known for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) and Planet of the Apes (1963) that were both made into award-winning films. Boulle was an engineer serving as a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore, when he was captured and subjected to two years' forced labour. He used these experiences in The Bridge over the River Kwai, about the notorious Death Railway, which became an international bestseller. The film by David Lean won many Oscars, and Boulle was credited with writing the screenplay, because its two genuine authors had been blacklisted. His science-fiction novel Planet of the Apes, where intelligent apes gain mastery over humans, was adapted into a series of five award-winning films that spawned magazine versions and popular themed toys.
