Have Mercy on Us All, by Fred Vargas

March 14, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, crime book, Fred Vargas, French writer, Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, Main character, recommendation 

This is the third book in the series about the eccentric and very special Detective Commisaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg. And it is a fantastic book. At least, to me it Have Mercy on Us All, by Fred Vargasis. It is a book that made me laugh, and feel great respect for Fred Vargas for her wonderful observations and astonishing descriptions and dialogues. And Have Mercy On Us All was a considerable hit in France as well. It was chosen by the booksellers of France and by the readers of Elle magazine as their Book of the Year.

In this book the eccentric, enigmatic and intuitive detective – in an eccentric plot – has been made commisaire principal, head of a new section in the Paris police force. His style of leadership, of course, is as interesting as the commisaire himself!

At the center of this book is the threat of plague – the Black death, no less in Paris. A murderer, or several, creates a panic in Paris while they systematically kill people. But why? How are the victims and murderers related? Why do the use the plague as a guise? And, of course, who are the killers? There are many and complicated questions and very few clues. Even Adamsberg, so famous for his intuition and photographic memory of images, as well as for his unclear, convoluted, sometimes quite muddled thinking, loses track of it all, somewhere in the great sea of his unfinished thoughts.

We meet a number of very interesting characters. There is Adamsberg’s assistant, Danglard, trying to bring an element of order into the chaos of Adamsberg’s thinking. And the town crier Joss Le Guern, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, who is used as a medium of communication for the murderers. There is also the mystical Decambrais, the lovely Camille with whom Adamsberg has a complicated romantic involvement, as well as several other very interesting persons. An engaging cast of very strange yet real characters, often amusing, and usually recognizable as bearing a resemblance to folks we have known. Together they make this a rich work of fiction alongside the wonderful crime novel.

Have Mercy On Us All is a strange, twisted, gothic thriller. It is impossible to categorize. It is also well planned, very thoughtfully written, excellently observed, very human and totally absorbing. It will make you laugh as well as excite you. It is, simply, a fascinating read!

Link: Fred Vargas at amazon US. You can order Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas from amazon UK as well!

Tags: , , , , , ,