At the event organised on 16 April, in partnership with the Book1 association and La Tache Noire bookshop – a true institution in crime fiction – the Amicale of the Council of Europe was delighted to welcome Mabrouck Rachedi, co-winner of the 2025 European prize for love novels for his book "Tous les mots qu’on ne s’est pas dits" ("All the words we didn’t say”).

Accompanied by the president of the Amicale, Hanane Berrahoui, secretary of the Book1 association, and Alice, the bookshop's intern, Mabrouck Rachedi presented his first crime novel, “La Chouette a sept jours pour sauver le monde” ("The Owl Has Seven Days to Save the World"), which has already received very positive feedback from readers.

Saving the world in just one week: that’s a great ambition. Can science be a solution to all of humanity’s problems? Who is Maxence Desjardin, the man nicknamed “the owl”? And what are the challenges of writing a story that blends science with human relationships? These are some of the questions addressed during this enriching event, which gave the author the opportunity to share his sources of inspiration, the current affairs that shaped the plot, and to depict an unlikely trio that breaks down stereotypes.

This enjoyable occasion, enlivened by a role-play reading led by Ms Berrahoui and Mr Huber, was followed by a fascinating discussion with the audience and a book-signing session in the author’s presence.

Thus, revisiting the traditional figure of the mad genius, Mabrouck Rachedi draws us into the heart of a gripping plot full of humour, playing with the conventions of the crime novel and confronting questions of identity with the mechanisms of the absurd.