Let's make this birthday one to remember.

80 years old (Born on June 20, 1945)

Happy Birthday, Jean-Claude Izzo! May your day be filled with more intrigue than Fabio Montale's adventures through Marseille. Your gritty yet poetic tales in "Total Chaos," "Chourmo," and "Solea" have kept readers glued to their seats—though perhaps not as tightly as your characters cling to their pasts.

Here's hoping your birthday celebration is less chaotic than the streets of Marseille you've vividly portrayed. May you enjoy a glass of fine French wine, surrounded by friends who are slightly less mysterious (and dangerous) than those populating your neo-noir masterpieces. Cheers to another year of literary brilliance and fewer fictional crimes!