Winner of The Crime Writers' Association Duncan Lawrie International Dagger
Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is not like other policemen. His methods appear unorthodox in the extreme: he doesn't search for clues; he ignores obvious suspects and arrests people with cast-iron alibis; he appears permanently distracted. In spite of all this his colleagues are forced to admit that he is a born cop.
When strange blue chalk circles start appearing overnight on the pavements of Paris, only Adamsberg takes them - and the increasingly bizarre objects found within them - seriously. And when the body of a woman with her throat savagely cut is found in one, only Adamsberg realises that other murders will soon follow…
‘The hottest property in contemporary crime fiction’ Guardian
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9780099488972
Number of pages: 256
Weight: 181 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 16 mm
Rich and witty - Independent
She wants to surprise, unsettle, frustrate and amuse - and succeeds in writing a gripping novel that takes readers out of their comfort zones - The Scotsman
The hottest property in contemporary crime fiction - Guardian
The novel shows Vargas in riveting form right from the start of her writing career - The Times
Witty, inventive and vaguely surreal, this novel should win over the most diehard crime fiction fans - Melissa McClemets, Financial Times
Stieg Larsson famously composed his Millennium Trilogy simply as a way of winding down from work, and Fred Vargas apparently came to writing in the same manner. To be honest, after the first chapter or two, I was of... More
I have just finished this and it is difficult for me to say really how I feel about it. On the one hand it is quite complex, different and enjoyable, but written in such a “relaxed” style that for a crime novel it... More
Maybe the French think differently. or maybe it is just Vargas, but this takes a distinctly different line - sometimes worrying about whther it really wants to be detective fiction but always slightly edgy. In any... More
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