This Night's Foul Work

by Fred Vargas

Book Overview

"Wry humor and offbeat plots blend with a subtly dangerous charm to make Fred Vargas the queen of French crime writers." --Martin Walker, author of the Bruno, Chief of Police Series

"A wildly imaginative series."--The New York Times

Awarded the International Dagger by the Crime Writers' Association four times, Fred Vargas has earned a reputation in Europe as a mystery author of the first order. In This Night's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143113593
• ISBN13: 9780143113591
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Penguin Adult Hc/Tr
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Stalking a methodical maniac

"Stands to reason," wise old men keep saying in this novel. But there's nothing reasonable about the crimes Commissaire Adamsberg is investigating, or the methodical maniac behind them. Adamsberg is at an interesting point in life. He's just moved into a house that's haunted by a long-dead bloodthirsty nun. His beloved Camille, who has rejected him, is treating him as a mere friend and convenient babysitter for their son. And the new recruit in his office from his native village is nursing a possibly murderous grudge against him. Meanwhile Adamsberg is encountering crimes that are not what they seem. In Paris, two young men with dubious occupations are found with their throats slit. In Normandy, the grave of a thirty-something virgin is desecrated, and a stag is killed in an unsportsmanlike fashion, with its heart cut out. As events unfold, Adamsberg is obsessed with minutia and absurdly hypothetical by turns. His wild and wooly mental processes find a match in the elaborate planning and staging of crimes by the killer, whose bizarre purpose is beyond even Adamsberg's imagination. The eccentric members of Adamsberg's Murder Squad add to the fun. Danglard, the walking encyclopedia, is hitting the bottle harder than ever. Retancourt, the tank-like woman officer who saved Adamsberg's life in a previous book, continues to "channel her energy" in mysterious ways. Kernorkian is afraid of dogs, germs and the dark. The narcoleptic Mercadet, when awake, demonstrates a real genius for figures. And the new recruit versifies compulsively in twelve-syllable Alexandrines. As always Vargas keeps the reader spellbound throughout an incredibly convoluted plot by the sheer power of her dazzling prose style. In her photo on the back of this book, Vargas looks young enough to produce a lot more Commissaire Adamsberg mysteries. I sincerely hope she does, and soon.

Ghost Story

Commissaire Adamsberg is a wistful protagonist who, while leading his Parisian crime squad, intuitively grasps unrelated clues where others see none. In this installment of the series, he is confronted with the murders of two unrelated toughs which are presumed to be drug related, and, therefore should be handled by the drug squad. However, the Commissaire holds on to the investigation, amassing clues and insights to move it in directions other than the assumption of drug involvement. Meanwhile, he also has to fight a new recruit who holds a boyhood grudge against his new boss, as well as supernatural sightings of ghosts both in his new home and in a Normandy cemetery. Are these all related? Is he following real clues, or being led down the proverbial primrose path? Written in droll prose, the novel is excellently translated by Sian Reynolds who captures the language and offbeat comments with accuracy. The plot certainly is offbeat and inclusion of Racine-like poetry is an excellent touch. The crimes described are among the more unusual in this type of mystery and the reader has to keep turning pages to keep up with events and the eccentric characters. Recommended.

Another Stellar Mystery You Can Finish in 2 Nights or Less

What I always enjoy about Vargas's Inspector Adamsberg mysteries is the knowledge that I'll finish the current one and cast about for her next. This Night's Foul Work is no different, and may be one of the better ones she's written so far. The characters are wonderful and she evokes the places of Normandy and Paris so simply, so easily, that it is clear she knows of what she writes. I suspect you'll finish this book in two nights...at most. Or, if you really like a good detective mystery, in one long night. This Night's Foul Work is just too good to stop.

Vargas is wonderful

There is no writer out there who does what Fred Vargas does. Her ability to describe the unreasoning and unconscious aspects of the human mind within the constraints of the crime/thriller/mystery genre is unlike any other modern writer. She holds my attention at all points in her tales, weaving contrasting and compelling portraits of not only her hero, Adamsberg, but the other players in her dramas. She leaves me wanting more and more of these wonderful plots and the amazing Adamsberg. She has some formidable fellow authors out there; but, quite frankly, she is in a league of her own.

Bravo, Fred

People who love Fred Vargas's Chief Inspector Adamsberg mysteries will really enjoy THIS NIGHT'S FOUL WORK. It's wonderfully atmospheric, the characters are complex and believable, and the plot is engrossing and completely unpredictable. I think it's one of the best of the series.