On This Page
Description
Between 1943 and 2003 nine people have been stabbed to death with a most unusual weapon- a trident. In each case, arrests were made, suspects confessed their crimes and were sentenced to life in prison. One slightly worrying detail- each presumed murderer lost consciousness during the night of the crime and has no recollection of it.Commissaire Adamsberg is convinced all the murders are the work of one person, the terrifying Judge Fulgence. Years before, Adamsberg's own brother had been the show more principal suspect in a similar case and avoided prison only thanks to Adamsberg's help.History repeats itself when Adamsberg, who is temporarily based in Quebec for a training mission, is accused of having savagely murdered a young woman he had met. In order to prove his innocence, Adamsberg must go on the run from the Canadian police and find Judge Fulgence. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
danhammang This book beat out Sun Storm for the 2007 CWA International Dagger. Check it out and see what you think.
Member Reviews
This is an author with numerous entries on my to-be-read list. As I write this review on the first novel I read, I am deeply involved in a second. Fred Vargas' crime fiction seems to be written as mythology: killer as fantastical beast and the members of the Serious Crime Squad as a pantheon of eccentric, flawed gods. She builds these characters with care:
"Where the names came from, Adamsberg did not know, but probably from Danglard, whose encyclopedic knowledge seems to him sometimes to be unlimited and almost toxic. The capitaine was capable of sudden outbursts of information, as frequent as they were uncontrollable, rather like the snorting of a horse."
In this novel, Commissaire Adamsberg's personal quest for a serial killer he has show more named Trident threatens his career and his freedom. I rate this winner of the CWA International Dagger Award at 8 out 10 stars. show less
"Where the names came from, Adamsberg did not know, but probably from Danglard, whose encyclopedic knowledge seems to him sometimes to be unlimited and almost toxic. The capitaine was capable of sudden outbursts of information, as frequent as they were uncontrollable, rather like the snorting of a horse."
In this novel, Commissaire Adamsberg's personal quest for a serial killer he has show more named Trident threatens his career and his freedom. I rate this winner of the CWA International Dagger Award at 8 out 10 stars. show less
Adamsberg in scacco?
Bellissima avventura che mette duramente alla prova il nostro "spalatore di nuvole". Vicende familiari dolorose tornano a galla dal passato, fantasmi di gioventù si materializzano in una catena di omicidi apparentemente scollegati, amnesìe inesplicabili portano a dubitare del proprio "io" e mettono pericolosamente sulla strada dell'autopunizione. Ma lentamente ogni tassello trova una sua collocazione, diabolica, precisa, potente come il fantasma con cui Adamsberg si trova a duellare. Sulla strada verso la luce della verità, personaggi incredibili per umanità e capacità: una "hacker" ultrasessantenne che ruba ai ricchi per "pareggiare" i conti, poliziotti canadesi di una correttezza disarmante, una collega show more burbera ma piena di risorse, donne tradite da uomini troppo presi da sè stessi. Esilarante lo slang dei "quebecchesi" che Adamsberg sembra capire non tanto "letteralmente" quanto "emotivamente". Il tutto condito come sempre da riferimenti reali e plausibili come la storia degli uomini, ingiustizie piccole pareggiate sulla lunga scala del tempo. show less
Bellissima avventura che mette duramente alla prova il nostro "spalatore di nuvole". Vicende familiari dolorose tornano a galla dal passato, fantasmi di gioventù si materializzano in una catena di omicidi apparentemente scollegati, amnesìe inesplicabili portano a dubitare del proprio "io" e mettono pericolosamente sulla strada dell'autopunizione. Ma lentamente ogni tassello trova una sua collocazione, diabolica, precisa, potente come il fantasma con cui Adamsberg si trova a duellare. Sulla strada verso la luce della verità, personaggi incredibili per umanità e capacità: una "hacker" ultrasessantenne che ruba ai ricchi per "pareggiare" i conti, poliziotti canadesi di una correttezza disarmante, una collega show more burbera ma piena di risorse, donne tradite da uomini troppo presi da sè stessi. Esilarante lo slang dei "quebecchesi" che Adamsberg sembra capire non tanto "letteralmente" quanto "emotivamente". Il tutto condito come sempre da riferimenti reali e plausibili come la storia degli uomini, ingiustizie piccole pareggiate sulla lunga scala del tempo. show less
This is the blackest point in the Adamsberg series so far, the inevitable moment that arrives in all police series where the hero finds himself cut off from the support of his official role and fighting to clear his name when he's unjustly suspected of a crime himself. At the same time, he has been seriously upset by the resumption of activity from a serial killer whom he has been tracking since his earliest days in the police. Unfortunately, due to the killer's skill in always supplying a convenient (amnesiac) suspect for each killing, Adamsberg has never been able to convince anyone in authority that it is a serial killer at all, and things are now even messier, as the prime suspect has been dead for 16 years...
This, and other things show more going on in his personal life, all presents a pretty effective challenge to Adamsberg's normal dreamy imperturbability, and things look pretty bad before we get to the end of the book. Not that we don't get the normal share of eccentricity and comic dialogue: in this case most of the comedy is supplied by the confrontation between the Paris cops and their Québecois colleagues during a training course in Canada - Vargas makes them all warn each other not to laugh at how silly Québecois French sounds to a Parisian, but then makes sure we get ample opportunities to do so, and there are plenty of maple trees, squirrels, low temperatures, etc. The tank-like Lieutenant Retancourt starts to develop as a character in her own right in this book, and another suitably bizarre Vargas touch is provided by the elite hit squad of old ladies rallying round Adamsberg during the period when he has to go underground. Nice is also the irony of how Adamsberg solves the main mystery by his usual mixture of semiotics, psychology and intuition, but the part that most directly affects himself has to be solved by his colleagues using good old-fashioned logic and physical evidence.
Probably one of the best Adamsberg stories, but maybe not a good one to start with. show less
This, and other things show more going on in his personal life, all presents a pretty effective challenge to Adamsberg's normal dreamy imperturbability, and things look pretty bad before we get to the end of the book. Not that we don't get the normal share of eccentricity and comic dialogue: in this case most of the comedy is supplied by the confrontation between the Paris cops and their Québecois colleagues during a training course in Canada - Vargas makes them all warn each other not to laugh at how silly Québecois French sounds to a Parisian, but then makes sure we get ample opportunities to do so, and there are plenty of maple trees, squirrels, low temperatures, etc. The tank-like Lieutenant Retancourt starts to develop as a character in her own right in this book, and another suitably bizarre Vargas touch is provided by the elite hit squad of old ladies rallying round Adamsberg during the period when he has to go underground. Nice is also the irony of how Adamsberg solves the main mystery by his usual mixture of semiotics, psychology and intuition, but the part that most directly affects himself has to be solved by his colleagues using good old-fashioned logic and physical evidence.
Probably one of the best Adamsberg stories, but maybe not a good one to start with. show less
While this book won't stop me from reading more of Vargas crime novels, it is one of the most disappointing in the series. For the first time, I feel that Vargas has "seriously lost the plot", for this book tends to ramble, saunter and stroll -- much like Adamsberg, in fact, who tends to like long walks. Unlike Adamsberg, however, there is no point to Vargas's rambles.
The dénouement, when it comes, is a real head scratcher. The motive for the murders is so bizarre that it beggars belief. The plot may indeed be emblematic of a psychopath's design but the connection is so poorly explained and tenuous that it makes me feel this book is written by a neophyte just breaking into the genre, rather than by someone with Vargas's tremendous show more talents.
Her characters are allowed to jaunt over to Canada in this book and while I admit to looking forward to her acerbic pen doing some interesting damage to the RCMP and their procedures, it was a total farce: slapstick more than good comedy. Everyone is a "pal", which bespeaks more of 1940s Los Angeles than it does 21st century Quebec/Ontario, and everybody is just over the top, in the wrong way. It was very painful to read in the sense that she just "didn't get it". I just didn't feel the irony more than I felt the buffoonery (of the writer, rather than her characters -- and it really hurts me to say that!)
All in all, a disappointment on plot.
Her characters continue to amuse, enthral and entertain me and so of course I will skip on to the next in the series because I like Vargas too much to abandon her after one faux pas, serious as that may be. show less
The dénouement, when it comes, is a real head scratcher. The motive for the murders is so bizarre that it beggars belief. The plot may indeed be emblematic of a psychopath's design but the connection is so poorly explained and tenuous that it makes me feel this book is written by a neophyte just breaking into the genre, rather than by someone with Vargas's tremendous show more talents.
Her characters are allowed to jaunt over to Canada in this book and while I admit to looking forward to her acerbic pen doing some interesting damage to the RCMP and their procedures, it was a total farce: slapstick more than good comedy. Everyone is a "pal", which bespeaks more of 1940s Los Angeles than it does 21st century Quebec/Ontario, and everybody is just over the top, in the wrong way. It was very painful to read in the sense that she just "didn't get it". I just didn't feel the irony more than I felt the buffoonery (of the writer, rather than her characters -- and it really hurts me to say that!)
All in all, a disappointment on plot.
Her characters continue to amuse, enthral and entertain me and so of course I will skip on to the next in the series because I like Vargas too much to abandon her after one faux pas, serious as that may be. show less
US publishers have finally discovered American readers are interested in the world outside our borders. We can finally get to know Fred Vargas, a surprising French writer whose mysteries have already sold 4 million copies in 33 countries and who recently was award the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger by the Crime Writers Association. What’s so surprising about this author? First, Fred Vargas is a woman. Second, her series is unlike any other.
Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg of Paris’s 7th Arrondissement is a dreamy, intuitive cop whose investigative style owes little to forensic science. Instead, he follows hunches that his logical colleague Danglard calls “jellyfish” – lacking a top or bottom, shapeless insights that show more are almost clairvoyant. That intuition gets Adamsberg into trouble when a woman turns up dead with three puncture wounds. He knows it is the work of his old nemesis, an aristocratic judge who has killed others with a trident-shaped weapon. In fact, many years ago, Adamsberg’s brother was accused of a murder that involved the same, signature wounds. The judge is able, almost literally, to get under Adamsberg’s skin, and when the commissaire travels with a team to Quebec to learn DNA techniques, it seems his enemy has followed. Convincing other, more logical colleagues that the judge might have a hand in recent killings is complicated by the fact the highly-respected judge would be in his nineties now. Even more problematic is the fact he died several years ago. But that won’t stop Adamsberg from pursuing the case.
Vargas’s unique style disdains labels and trends. Though the first in this series has not been translated into English, this book offers a good introduction to a truly intriguing series. show less
Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg of Paris’s 7th Arrondissement is a dreamy, intuitive cop whose investigative style owes little to forensic science. Instead, he follows hunches that his logical colleague Danglard calls “jellyfish” – lacking a top or bottom, shapeless insights that show more are almost clairvoyant. That intuition gets Adamsberg into trouble when a woman turns up dead with three puncture wounds. He knows it is the work of his old nemesis, an aristocratic judge who has killed others with a trident-shaped weapon. In fact, many years ago, Adamsberg’s brother was accused of a murder that involved the same, signature wounds. The judge is able, almost literally, to get under Adamsberg’s skin, and when the commissaire travels with a team to Quebec to learn DNA techniques, it seems his enemy has followed. Convincing other, more logical colleagues that the judge might have a hand in recent killings is complicated by the fact the highly-respected judge would be in his nineties now. Even more problematic is the fact he died several years ago. But that won’t stop Adamsberg from pursuing the case.
Vargas’s unique style disdains labels and trends. Though the first in this series has not been translated into English, this book offers a good introduction to a truly intriguing series. show less
Review for 2nd reading (2/14//21 - 2/19/21): Now that I've read this particular book in its correct order I feel Vargas is even more of a genius. This is the best book of the series so far. Each of her odd plots are one of a kind. While the plot in Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand is LESS unique,
Vargas has compensated by making this case significantly more personal to Adamsberg. He displays his anger, frustration, and vulnerability. Because of that he cannot solve this like other challenging cases; by walking and thinking. No, he needs help from others but his rambling rant about the Trident and his victims together with his aberrant behavior antagonizes those around him.
Vargas is a master at writing what I will call 'introspective' show more mysteries. She takes her time. Less action, but lots more thinking and free association especially on Adamsberg's part. Strangely its not boring but compelling, moving and very readable.
Review for 1st reading:
Vargas pulls you in from the start and keeps you in. The characters' thoughts, mannerisms and idiosyncracies are engagingly well-described. The plot is brilliant and compelling, and the timing and pace are not rushed. It is a refreshing difference to many other mysteries that the reader is not overwhelmed and confused with too many clues and red herrings given too quickly.
Vargas may be a new discovery for me so I am thrilled knowing there are some great reads ahead of me.
Outstanding: exciting, fun mystery! show less
Vargas has compensated by making this case significantly more personal to Adamsberg. He displays his anger, frustration, and vulnerability. Because of that he cannot solve this like other challenging cases; by walking and thinking. No, he needs help from others but his rambling rant about the Trident and his victims together with his aberrant behavior antagonizes those around him.
Vargas is a master at writing what I will call 'introspective' show more mysteries. She takes her time. Less action, but lots more thinking and free association especially on Adamsberg's part. Strangely its not boring but compelling, moving and very readable.
Review for 1st reading:
Vargas pulls you in from the start and keeps you in. The characters' thoughts, mannerisms and idiosyncracies are engagingly well-described. The plot is brilliant and compelling, and the timing and pace are not rushed. It is a refreshing difference to many other mysteries that the reader is not overwhelmed and confused with too many clues and red herrings given too quickly.
Vargas may be a new discovery for me so I am thrilled knowing there are some great reads ahead of me.
Outstanding: exciting, fun mystery! show less
I've enjoyed the other three books I've read in this series, but I always felt that Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg was maintaining a distance between us. With Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand, this distance vanished, and I am well and truly hooked. Vargas excels in mixing various styles, and she continues to do so here. There's a light comic touch throughout the book combined with much darker themes. What's new to the mix is the fact that her main character has to look deep inside himself during this case, and this adds just the right amount of psychology to the book.
There is something about a story in which the hero knows himself to be right yet still finds himself fighting against tremendous odds. How is he going to succeed? Where is he show more going to find trustworthy people to help him? The killer he's been following for so long is highly intelligent and quite adept at covering his tracks. Adamsberg has to change his methods in order to bring him to justice, and changing those methods is not easy.
His help comes from some very unlikely sources: "These last few days, my life has been in the hands of magical women. They've been tossing me from one to another, and every time they save me from falling into the abyss." A large part of the joy in reading this book is becoming acquainted with these magical women, and I refuse to tell you about them because you need to discover them for yourselves.
Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand is one of those wonderful instances in which plot, character, and writing combine in a story that grabs hold and doesn't let go. It's one of my best reads this year and makes me wonder why I've fallen behind in reading Fred Vargas's books. show less
There is something about a story in which the hero knows himself to be right yet still finds himself fighting against tremendous odds. How is he going to succeed? Where is he show more going to find trustworthy people to help him? The killer he's been following for so long is highly intelligent and quite adept at covering his tracks. Adamsberg has to change his methods in order to bring him to justice, and changing those methods is not easy.
His help comes from some very unlikely sources: "These last few days, my life has been in the hands of magical women. They've been tossing me from one to another, and every time they save me from falling into the abyss." A large part of the joy in reading this book is becoming acquainted with these magical women, and I refuse to tell you about them because you need to discover them for yourselves.
Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand is one of those wonderful instances in which plot, character, and writing combine in a story that grabs hold and doesn't let go. It's one of my best reads this year and makes me wonder why I've fallen behind in reading Fred Vargas's books. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Books Read in 2016
4,666 works; 199 members
Books Read in 2018
4,360 works; 110 members
Global Mysteries
90 works; 6 members
Books Read in 2008
335 works; 8 members
Author Information
54+ Works 15,383 Members
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand
- Original title
- Sous les vents de Neptune
- Original publication date
- 2004-03 (original French) (original French); 2007 (English: Reynolds) (English: Reynolds)
- People/Characters
- Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg
- Important places
- Québec, Canada; Paris, Île-de-France, France
- Related movies
- Sous les vents de Neptune (2008 | IMDb | TV)
- Epigraph
- Will all the great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
- Macbeth, II.ii - Dedication
- À ma sœur jumelle, Jo Vargas
To my twin sister, Jo Vargas - First words
- Leaning his shoulder against the dark basement wall, Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg stood contemplating the enormous central heating boiler which had suddenly stopped working, two days before.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Et puis tourne.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And smoke it. - Original language*
- Frans
- Disambiguation notice
- Original French title = Sous les vents de Neptune; English title = Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 1,372
- Popularity
- 17,381
- Reviews
- 60
- Rating
- (3.85)
- Languages
- 17 — Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, simplified
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 57
- ASINs
- 19