Jean-Christophe Rufin's new Aurel novel set on Napoleon's exile island

Jean-Christophe Rufin, a physician, 2001 Goncourt Prize winner, and member of the Académie Française since 2008, has published the seventh installment of his detective series 'Les aventures d'Aurel le Consul.' Titled 'La Folie Sainte-Hélène,' the novel is set on the remote British territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where Napoleon died in exile. The plot revolves around the disappearance of the consul administering the French enclave of Longwood, where Napoleon's death occurred. Aurel is tasked with solving the mystery on an island connected to South Africa by a weekly flight, where everyone knows each other. The investigation reveals that Napoleon's memory still incites violent passions, and the missing consul had enemies among fervent Emperor enthusiasts who visit the exile site. A young French woman helps Aurel uncover the truth. Rufin's series has previously taken readers to Guinea, Mozambique, Azerbaijan, Mexico, and Albania. The author, a pioneer of the humanitarian movement and former diplomat (cultural attaché in Brazil, ambassador to Senegal and Gambia), has written over twenty books including 'Rouge Brésil' and 'Immortelle randonnée.'