John-Claude Bergeron
CRIME & THRILLER FICTION
Dark, character-driven stories of crime, power, loyalty, faith, and redemption.
I'm a French Canadian novelist based in Granby, Quebec, and currently spending time in Massachusetts. I married an American, and I write crime and thriller fiction in English for the American market.
The book
THEY RECRUIT WOUNDS
They don't recruit soldiers — they recruit wounds.
THEY RECRUIT WOUNDS is a psychological crime thriller about moral injury, manipulation, faith, and redemption.
After Marine Daniel Mercer returns from war psychologically scarred and adrift, an intelligence operative recruits him for deniable killings, giving him purpose when civilian life no longer does. But when Daniel tries to walk away, the life he has begun rebuilding becomes the very thing used to keep him under control.
At its core, the novel asks how much manipulation can explain a man's choices before responsibility becomes his alone.
The manuscript is complete at approximately 80,000 words. The combat and operational stress material was reviewed by a veteran with thirty years of service, and the religious material by a Catholic priest and canon lawyer. I wasn't willing to put a soldier and a priest on the page and guess.
Book two is in progress.
Follow the journey
My first novel is finished, and I'm actively querying literary agents to find the right partner for the book and the career I'm building. I'm documenting the journey: the decisions, the meetings, the progress, and the setbacks.
Leave your email and you'll know before anyone else when the book comes out.
Why this story
I never served. The book isn't about war — it's about how far a man falls when the thing he believed in stops holding him up, and what it costs to climb back. I didn't research that part.
The rest, I refused to guess at. A veteran with thirty years of service reviewed the combat and operational stress material; a Catholic priest and canon lawyer reviewed the religious material.
Where things stand
THEY RECRUIT WOUNDS is complete at approximately 80,000 words. John-Claude is actively querying literary agents and will attend the New England Crime Bake in November 2026 as part of its Agents & Editors programming.
Press
2026
- Entrevues M105 — live radio, M105 (104.9 FM), Granby — Marie-Ève Dupré — August 2026 — FR
- La Voix de l'Est — daily newspaper, Granby — Nicolas T. Parent — August 2026 — FR
- The Pulse of the Eastern Townships — online daily, Eastern Townships — William Crooks — August 2026 — EN
- Midis culturels — live radio and video, Radio-Acton — Danick Plouffe — September 1, 2026 — FR
Official bio, author photo, book details and interview topics — in English and French.
Contact
Media, podcasts and industry enquiries: john@johnclaudebergeron.com
Interviews in English or French.