With sensitivity and emotion, this novel explores shadowy zones in today’s wars and the shockwaves they represent for contemporary souls. — Le Figaro littéraire        

Émilie Guillaumin shares the path of a woman whose bravery may well be equal to her late husband’s. L’Embuscade explores and diversifies the notion of heroism. — Le Monde des livres

More than just a book, this is a human and literary experience. — Le Magazine de la santé 

A real stand-out in the 2021 Fall French rentrée littéraire. — Le Figaro magazine

“It’s an absolutely brilliant portrait of a woman, an absolutely brilliant portrait of the army. Emilie Guillaumin spent two years in the army, she knows very well what it is like. [When reading L’Embuscade] I felt like I was in an American movie, except it is a French movie.” — France 2

“This is a second novel of absolutely remarkable precision and emotion.” — Télématin

Based on a true story, this powerful novel looks at the army from an atypical perspective: from the point of view of soldiers’ wives. 

It reveals the existence of a little-known unit of elite soldiers: the 13^th parachute dragoon regiment. 

An August night: Cedric’s scent is still hovering in the air of their bedroom. The elite special-forces soldier has been on a mission for a month and a half now. A month and a half that Clémence, his wife, and their three sons have been waiting for his return. Just past dawn, a military delegation rings the doorbell. Sergeant Major Cédric Delmas fell into an ambush with five of his comrades-in-arms.

Alongside other women, other soldier’s wives, Clémence has been drawn unintentionally into France’s secret war in the Levant. She is beset by some nagging questions: what really happened during the ambush? And why is the army being so tight-lipped about it?

With subtlety, insight and emotion, L’Embuscade portrays a woman, mother and spouse’s powerful and courageous battle to learn the truth.

The author’s career is meaningful: she knows the army from the inside and has interviewed a number of soldier’s widows.  The book has caught the eye of the Ministry of Armies’ Cinema Mission.