Antoine Laurain Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Antoine Laurain
Antoine Laurain is a screenwriter, novelist, director, journalist, and a collector of antique keys. A truly born and bred Parisian, after he studied film, he started his career directing short films and writing screenplays. His passion for art led him to take on a job assisting an antiques dealer in Paris. This experience provided the inspiration for “The Portrait”, his first novel, which won the Prix Drouot.

“The Portrait” is also the one he has special affection for. Because it is the first of his novels to have been published, and was a bit of an adventure to move from a text in his computer to a novel in a bookshop. Antoine actually wrote it in the store of the antique dealer he was working for at the time. He also likes it because the book belongs to a certain period of his life.

He also set “The President’s Hat” during the 80s because that’s the time that he’d like to go back to, since it’s his childhood. He has quite a few memories from that time. It was a time without internet or Facebook, and without mobile phones.

“The President’s Hat”, published on the eve of the 2012 French presidential elections, was awarded the Prix Landerneau Decouvertes and the Prix Relay des Voyageurs, and the English translation was an ABA Indies Introduce and a Waterstones Book Club pick. It was also a Kindle Top 5 bestseller. And in France, it’s been adapted for television.

Antoine’s books have been translated into more than twenty languages, including Korean and Arabic.

“The President’s Hat” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2013.
Accountant Daniel Mercier, while dining alone in an elegant Parisian brasserie, can hardly believe his eyes when President Francois Mitterand sits down at the table right next to him to eat.

Daniel’s thrill in being in such close proximity to the most powerful guy in the land persists long after the presidential party’s left, which is when he finds that Mitterrand’s black felt hat’s been left behind.

After just a few moments’ of soul-searching, Daniel decides to keep this hat as a souvenir of quite the extraordinary evening. The hat is a perfect fit, and while he is leaving the restaurant Daniel starts to feel different, somehow.

“The Red Notebook” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2015.
Laurent Letellier, a heroic bookseller, comes upon an abandoned handbag on some Parisian street. There isn’t anything in the bag to indicate whose it is, but there are all kinds of other things in it. Laurent feels this strong impulse to track down the owner and attempts to puzzle out who she may be just from the contents of the bag.

Particularly this red notebook with her jottings, which truly makes him want to meet her. Without even just a name to go by, and just a few of her belongings to aid him, how will he find just one woman in a city of millions?

“French Rhapsody” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2016. Alain Massoulier, a middle-aged doctor, has received this life-changing letter some thirty-three years too late.

Lost within the Paris postal system for decades, the letter from Polydor, that is dated 1983, offers up a recording contract to The Holograms, in which Alain was their lead guitarist. At that time, The Holograms had believed in their cutting edge sound. But the music industry stayed indifferent, and eventually the band broke up, with each member going their own way.

Alain’s overcome by nostalgia, and is tempted to track down the other members of The Holograms. However in a world where everybody and everything has changed, where is such a quest going to take him?

“Smoking Kills” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2018. When headhunter Fabrice Valantine faces a smoking ban at his work, he decides to undertake a course of hypnotherapy in order to rid himself of his habit. The treatment works at first, however his stress levels start rising once he gets passed over for an important promotion and he finds himself lighting up again, however without any of his previous enjoyment.

Then he learns something horrible: he accidentally causes the death of a man, and needing a cigarette to calm his nerves down, he enjoys it a lot more than other prior smoke. What if he now needs to murder somebody every single time he wants to properly appreciate his next Benson and Hedges?

“The Readers’ Room” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2020. The manuscript of a debut crime novel shows up at a Parisian publishing house, everybody in the readers’ room is certain that it is something special. And the committee for France’s highest literary honor, the Prix Goncourt, agrees.

However when the shortlist gets announced, there is an issue for editor Violaine Lepage: she has no clue of the writer’s identity. While the cops start investigating a series of murders oddly reminiscent of those recounted in the novel, Violaine’s not the only one hunting for answers. And, suffering memory blanks after an airplane accident, she is starting to wonder what role she could play in this tale.

Antoine combines charm and intrigue in a dazzling novel of love, mystery, and the power of books.

“Red is My Heart” is a stand alone novel that was released in the year 2022. How do you mend a broken heart? Do you write up a letter to the woman that left you, and send it to some imaginary address? Buy a new watch and try to reset your life? Or just get rid of the jacket you wore each time you argued, since you feel it’s in some way responsible?

Combining playful drawings in only three colors (red, white, and black) with the wry musings of a rejected lover, Antoine and Le Sonneur have created a striking addition to the literature about unrequited love. Warm, yet sharp, deeply Parisian and whimsical, this is a must read for every Antoine Laurain fan.