Possessions

All similarities between Possessions and your average hard-boiled detective novel end with the headless corpse that shows up at the beginning of Julia Kristeva's novel. Kristeva, you see, is not your average writer of detective fiction. She is a psychoanalyst and linguistic theorist, the author of books on both language and depression--two themes she weaves through this intellectual mystery. The tale begins with Gloria Harrison, a translator who is murdered and decapitated after a dinner party. Enter Stephanie Delacour, an old friend of the victim and a journalist with a nose for murder. Though Kristeva has provided all the necessary components for a standard mystery--a victim, several suspects, and a detective--she seems far more interested in exploring the psychological issues surrounding her characters than the crime itself. The pages of Possessions are filled with reflections on motherhood, depression, semiotics, and more. So if you're looking for a mystery novel that will stimulate your brain rather than your adrenaline production, Possessions is a good place to start.