Have Mercy on Us All

Wow. Vargas has created one of the strangest Chief-Inspectors in Adamsberg; laid-back but intense, thoughtful but doesn't care what people think of him, seemingly inattentive but always contemplating his cases, intuitively intelligent but considered illogical especially by Langard, his right-hand officer. He is definitely annoyingly compelling.

Vargas' mysteries are based on the most odd-ball plots I've ever read, capturing and tantalizing my attention and interest. I found Have Mercy on Us All to be one of her best mysteries. Faster paced, and full of more action, and more red-herrings than the others I've read.

An outstanding read.

This is the third Adamsberg story, but the Three Evangelists manage to sneak in too, playing a small role as historical advisors. Rather to everyone's surprise, Adamsberg has been appointed head of a specialist murder brigade, and there's a running joke about his inability to remember the names of any of his new subordinates. As in L'homme aux cercles bleus, he gets involved in investigating a series of murders that are prefigured by the appearance of enigmatic symbols, and as in several of the other books, it turns out that the murderer is playing on one of the semi-rational fears that are lodged in our collective cultural memory: in this case the Plague.

The novel has its focus in a very specific spot in Paris, the Rue de la show more Gaîté/Boulevard Edgar-Quinet crossroads, in the shadow of the Tour Montparnasse, where a beached Breton fisherman, Joss Le Guern, has carved out a new career for himself by reinventing the profession of town-crier: for a 5 franc fee, he roars out small ads to the assembled locals three times a day. Vargas uses this quirky scenario as a clever way of leading us in to accept the idea of a village murder mystery set in the heart of a busy city, with all the main characters being the eccentrics who live or run businesses around this crossroads: an unfrocked schoolmaster who runs a Balzacian private hotel (complete with personalised serviette rings!) and makes lace on the side; the proprietor of a surf-shop whose sister is concerned that he'll catch his death of cold going around in a singlet all the time; a Norman barman descended directly from Thor; an ex-prostitute turned chanteuse, etc. It's all a bit M. Hulot, but it's so charming that Vargas manages to get us to suspend our disbelief for long enough to make it work.

Adamsberg gets involved when Joss becomes worried about some strange apocalyptic messages he's being asked to read out, and at the same time someone seems to be going around painting strange symbols on the doors of apartment buildings. With some help from Marc Vandoosler, he manages to work out the link between the two, but it doesn't get him very far. Then the first body is found, and things start getting very itchy...

Once again, this is a novel that's particularly enjoyable for the way it never goes quite where you're expecting it to: the characters are original, funny and believable, the dialogue very sharp. The mystery itself is absurdly complicated: it relies on a variant of a plot device that old-fashioned mystery writers occasionally used for a single murder (but generally avoided, because it is very hard to make it believable). Applying it to a serial-killer story shows considerable chutzpah - Vargas just about manages to get away with it, and she even adds a special twist of her own. show less

Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg has got what he really wanted, a murder squad to lead in Paris. The only problem now is that he has to learn 28 new names of the members of his team so it's a good job Danglard, his trusty no.2, has come along with him to help him out. While they're getting their new offices kitted out a woman comes in to report a strange case of graffiti, someone has been painting backwards 4's on the doors in her apartment block. Thinking nothing of it, Adamsberg fobs her off with some vague reassurances but is then more intrigued when the woman returns reporting other instances around different districts in Paris. Danglard has a fuzzy recollection of the symbol and Camille, Adamsberg's lover, also remembers show more seeing it in a history book of a friend. While all this has been going on, there's a town crier who's been getting some very strange messages, which seem to be snippets of old history books left for him to read. One of his friends manages to trace where the texts are coming from and what they portend they realise they should inform the police and as the friend in question has had dealings with Adamsberg before that's who they arrange to see and advise him that someone may be planning to release the black death at any moment. When he hears the tale, Adamsberg decides to track down the meaning of the backwards 4's and contacts Camille's historian friend, who turns out to be one of The Three Evangelists so if you've read that book it's a nice little cameo, and that also relates to the plague being used as a talisman to ward it off. Is someone seriously about to unleash the Black Death or is it just fear mongering or perhaps there's something else behind it all. Whichever, it's not long before the first victim is found and the pronouncements left for the crier are getting worse.

Adamsberg is not a typical detective, often following gut instinct even when there's no logic behind his feelings. He's somewhat absent-minded, especially with names and dates but he often sees more than even he realises at the time with pictures of events returning to him with a vital clue as to what he may be looking for. The author manages to use her knowledge as an historian to really help set the scene and ramp up the tension with each step. The story does meander along for a while at the beginning but Vargas' characters are so bright and varied I didn't mind one bit. Last time I visited this series I found the translation to be a bit clunky but even though it was done by the same person I had no problems this time around. An original voice in a genre that is increasingly difficult to find something that bit different, recommended for those looking for a more off-beat police procedural. show less

Fliehe weit - aber nimm dieses unwiderstehliche Buch mit! Die Pest in Paris! Das Gerücht hält die Stadt in Atem, seit auf immer mehr Wohnungstüren über Nacht eine seitenverkehrte 4 erscheint und morgens ein Toter auf der Straße liegt - schwarz. Kommissar Adamsberg sitzt in einer kleinen Brasserie in Montparnasse. Im Kopf hat er eine rätselhafte lateinische Formel, die auf jenen Türen stand - und vor sich, am Metroausgang, einen bretonischen Seemann, der anonyme Annoncen verliest. Auch lateinische darunter. Aber wo ist der Zusammenhang zwischen den immer zahlreicheren Toten in der Stadt und den sympathischen kleinen Leuten, die dem Bretonen so gebannt zuhören? Plötzlich hat Adamsberg, der Mann mit der unkontrollierten Phantasie, show more eine Vision. Ein meisterhafter Roman voll düsterer Spannung, leiser Poesie und Vargas' unnachahmlich schrägen Dialogen. show less

Someone is sending mysterious messages to a man who has revived the practice of town crier, messages that seem, under investigation by a local who runs a sort of boarding house, to be foretelling the coming of the plague. Simultaneously, someone is painting reverse 4s with two crosses on the end (see the cover of the book) on doors. Commissioner Adamsberg, who now is running a murder squad, is disturbed when a woman comes in to tell him about these door paintings. He is disturbed enough to contact a medievalist who turns out to be none other than Vandoosler, one of the three evangelists from the book of that title; he tells Adamsberg that this was an ancient custom designed to thwart the plague. But one door in all the apartment show more buildings is left unpainted, and soon people in them start turning up dead. They have been strangled, but daubed with black markings meant to simulate the Black Death -- although it turns out that people didn't turn black with the plague. They also had ivory envelopes slit open containing rat fleas slipped under their doors (but the rat fleas turn out to be healthy, not plague carriers). This is just the start of a convoluted story that once again has unforgettable characters and that turns out to be a story of family traditions run amok, and families sticking together and wreaking vengeance on each other. At the end, I couldn't put this book down. show less

First Line: When manie wormes breede of putrefaction of the earth: toade stooles and rotten herbes abound: The fruites and beastes of the earth are unsavoury: The wine becomes muddie: manie birds and beastes flye from that place....

In a small Parisian neighborhood the age-old tradition of the town crier still goes on. The self-appointed crier, Joss Le Guern, reads out the daily news, bits of gossip, the weather forecast, items for sale... and ominous messages in strange language that are paid for and placed in Le Guern's message box by an anonymous source-- messages that seem to warn of an impending plague.

Concerned, Le Guern brings the messages to the attention of Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg and his right-hand man, Adrien show more Danglard. When several apartment buildings have their doors painted with the ancient symbol to ward off plague, Adamsberg knows there is a connection. Then a flea-bitten corpse with plague-like symptoms is found, and the Commissaire is under pressure to solve the case and restore calm to a frightened city.

Once again Vargas has worked her magic. She's created a tiny neighborhood in Paris populated with wonderful characters and a true feeling of community. There is more to the plot than first meets the eye as well. At first seen as a straight-forward mystery involving the bubonic plague, Vargas slowly includes snippets of evidence and tiny clues that make the reader wonder if there's not something more to the plot. This is Vargas, so of course there's more to it than the plague!

Vargas is so skilled at plotting that I was convinced that Adamsberg was after the wrong villain. But-- like twisting the barrel of a kaleidoscope-- the facts kept shifting in and out of focus, regrouping themselves into different patterns, and I slowly began to realize what was going on.

As ever, Adamsberg is the master chef of the book. Yes, he has his men gather all the clues, follow the chain of evidence, turn everything over to the pathologists and other fact-finders, but he relies on his thought processes. All the evidence, all the interviews, all the random impressions are like the ingredients in a recipe. It's up to Adamsberg to put everything together and add the spice of his intuition to come up with a memorable dish. If you're in the mood for a savory meal, I heartily recommend a Commissaire Adamsberg book by Fred Vargas! If you're new to these books and are wondering whether you should start at the beginning of the series, it's really not necessary. Have Mercy on Us All stands alone quite well. show less

My first Fred Vargas book that features Inspector Adamsberg and a thoroughly enjoyable read. This not a police procedural but rather a police unprocedural as Adamsberg relies on his instincts to solve crimes. Paris is the backdrop for much of the book although it all seems a little provincial as Adamsberg does not seem to be a big city cop. The book stands out because of its outrageous crime scenario which at times almost takes the book into the realms of fantasy, but Vargas brings it all down to earth with a logical explanation of events. No graphic violence, plenty of characterisation, and a mystery that unfolds gradually as the story progresses, but it takes a commentary near the end to explain it all. I loved the idea of a modern show more day town crier and thought it would go well in my small town, but I would be worried if their were warnings of the plague and people started painting backward looking 4's on their front doors. Plenty of French culture to enjoy and Adamsberg being French is a consumate seducer of women and always stops for lunch. Great fun, tempted to read some more. show less