Bertille & Bertille #1

From Éric Stalner and Grand Angle comes this atmospheric Franco-Belgian mystery with an irresistible hook right on the cover: two figures — one in a white coat, arms raised, the other in a long grey overcoat — stand in a driving rainstorm before a vast, blood-red sphere hovering eerily above a darkened forest, their vintage automobile abandoned beside them. The subtitle L'Étrange Boule Rouge ("The Strange Red Ball") says it all, and the cover's brooding, rain-soaked palette makes the glowing crimson orb feel genuinely unsettling. If you enjoy period mystery with a touch of the unexplained, this 2022 release from Bamboo Édition is a wonderful place to start.