Ariane is a medical student and a rather anxious young woman. After breaking up with her boyfriend, she has just moved into an apartment building in the Montparnasse area of Paris. Outwardly, the building seems quite ordinary, but Ariane soon discovers that she has some strange neighbours, like the ageing harp teacher who favours a heady tuberose perfume and holds forth on strange subjects.

While working as an intern at the Forensics Institute, Ariane has to perform an autopsy on the corpse of a young man, whose body is covered with stab wounds. As Ariane uncovers the body she suddenly recognises one of her friends, Jérémie. He was murdered in the basement of Ariane's building, and so she becomes the prime suspect. Shaken but firmly convinced that she can prove her innocence, she sets out to uncover the strange goings-on in her new apartment building.

• A well-plotted story told in a lively cinematic style.

• Action, strange happenings, a suspicious death, disturbing characters, an engaging heroine: all the ingredients for a successful thriller are reunited in Laura Sadowski's latest book.

Laura Sadowski is a lawyer. She is the author of L'Origine du sexe (2009) and L'Affaire Clémence Lange (2008, paperback 2009), which is currently being adapted for television.