Published in January 2016, *Les petites filles* is the first novel by Julie Ewa, released by Albin Michel in the Special Suspense collection. Set in China, Julie Ewa, a young author from Alsace, offers us an interesting and promising thriller.
Lina has just arrived in China for a year of study when she meets Thomas, a member of an NGO, who asks for her help to investigate children’s disappearances. A taboo subject in a country where girls are considered negligible and which, until the previous autumn (October 2015), practiced the one-child policy. Lina finds herself in the heart of a small village, Mou di, to find out more.
At the same time, the reader discovers the story of Sun and her daughter Chi-Ni; the little girl disappeared, and anxiety grips the young mother. This unfolds in 1991, and we discover it has ramifications until 2013, the period when Lina arrives in Mou di.
For this first publication with Albin Michel, Julie Ewa has not selected an easy subject, the theme of missing children, nor a territory easily accessible. For many, China is a country of mysteries that it is sometimes very difficult to grasp. The descriptions of China, a country seemingly torn between too much modernity and ancient traditions, are well rendered, and one feels immersed in the country. The journey made by the author in 2013 brings the necessary realism to this country and its inhabitants. The distress of women who cannot bear a son is palpable, torn between love for their daughters and the shame they bring to their family. “In these impoverished villages, not having a son or grandson was more serious than not having a house or land,” cites Chinese journalist and author Xinran in *Messages from Unknown Mothers*, used by Julie Ewa at the beginning of the first part.
Les petites filles simultaneously tells the story of Sun and Lina and allows readers to follow both investigations in parallel. Written with very short chapters, this alternation of viewpoints increases suspense effects but sometimes leaves the reader wanting more. Indeed, in some aspects, one wishes Julie Ewa had taken more time to create an atmosphere and develop her characters, providing more depth to the whole.
As for the characters, while the villagers are perfectly represented—Sun, Chi-Ni, Tao, old Zhen, Lu-Pan, Yao-Shi, Rong Zhou—the two French characters, Lina and Thomas, appear somewhat naive and overconfident. The encounter with Thomas and especially the way he involves Lina is introduced somewhat abruptly.
Nonetheless, the story works, and the reader is drawn into this good page-turner, with its simple writing and ever-present suspense. Overall, the novel indicates that Julie Ewa can carve a niche for herself within the world of French thrillers.
