Synopsis: In a not-so-distant future where society has changed considerably but the problems often remain the same, a young policewoman from Paris is dragged into a difficult, dangerous investigation that could impact the very future of mankind.

Review: The Mermaid Project is a French language near-future, espionage/detective story, with science fiction elements. It's published by Cinebook and is a complete story is 5 volumes (albums). It was written by Leo and Corine Jamar, art by Fred Simon, and translated by Jerome Saincantin. 

Inspector Romane Pennac is the only white Inspector in a near future Paris. The world has been wrecked by climate disasters and the global world order as we know it has been upended. Black and Brown people now make up the majority and white people the minority. Through visuals we get to see empty streets that haven't been maintained, horses, carriages, and bicycles being used, and the Eiffel Tower is partly destroyed.

She seems to be a pretty good detective but isn’t respected by her colleagues. She gets pulled into larger, international events when it turns out she has a personal connection with an international corporation based in the US. She’s paired up with a more experienced partner to investigate.

It’s near the end of Volume 1 that the more overt science fiction elements start to present themselves. Even as the story ventures more into science fiction territory, it always remains grounded in thriller, action, procedural spy mode. There is a lot of corporate and international intrigue that pulls the reader through the story. The art style is very rich though the story does occasionally get a touch bogged down in exposition at times.

I’m not sure the racial elements of the story fully work. The story clearly wants us to think about race in this world but the visual language used for the Black characters feels a little off. While this is worth a mention it’s also important to point out that the story moves away from these elements once the story leaves Paris.

Romane is an interesting protagonist. Readers will be familiar with this story type and the type of characters that typically anchor them . But Romane doesn’t seem to fit any of those molds. So there’s a certain amount of investment in seeing how this character is going to anchor this story.

The central mystery is nicely set up. Romane is working a local case when a mysterious letter appears in the mail alerting her that the body in the coffin doesn’t match the victim in the case. Once the body is exhumed the links to the larger mystery are revealed.

Overall this was a wild ride set in an interesting near future world.

Verdict: mixed positive/recommended

Availability: The Mermaid Project is available in print and electronically for the Kindle. It’s also available on Hoopla