André Marois's thriller La sainte paix wins French literary prize
The Quebec author's crime novel—originally published in 2023—earns the Prix des libraires 10-18 from French booksellers, adding to its growing international recognition.
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André Marois's crime thriller La sainte paix has won the Prix des libraires 10-18, polar 2026, awarded by French booksellers to the year's best paperback crime novel.
The recognition marks a second wind for the novel, which was first published in 2023 by Quebec publisher Héliotrope. The prize-winning edition is the paperback version released by French publisher 10-18 on March 5, 2026.
La sainte paix tells the story of Jacqueline, a widow in her seventies living beside the Mastigouche River, who is willing to eliminate her neighbor Madeleine to preserve her "holy peace." The novel already accumulated honors before this French award: in 2024, it won the Crime Writers of Canada award for best French-language crime novel published in Canada, and the year before it was shortlisted for the Prix Saint-Pacôme, another major crime fiction award.
Marois released another crime novel this year, Touche pas à mon cadavre, which again features an ordinary person becoming a murderer—and the return of Jacqueline.
