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octavietullier's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
aditurbo's review against another edition
5.0
This is not your average, write-by-numbers mystery novel, but very sophisticated literary suspense which has a very unconventional structure and as usual with Vargas, a truly original idea as a premise. The characters are fantastic, so unique and human you would never forget them, especially that of Louis Kehlweiler. Kehlweiler is one-of-a-kind, a beacon of integrity, intelligence and morality. He keeps quiet in face of constant insults from all around, which only later we learn how deeply he doesn't deserve. He is kind in the widest sense of the word, an authentic man where everyone else is playing games and putting on facades. The suspense builds up very slowly, but keep on and you'll enjoy yourself immensely by the end of it.
writerlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This is the only book I’ve read since I’ve been sent to work from home. I mostly read it in the middle of the night while sleep was elusive. A pretty good Vargas, book 2 of the Evangelist series where we Marc and Mathias meet an original, newly set aside investigator of the Interior. Louis or Ludwig is an obstinate, dog with a bone, type of person. The plot is vintage Vargas where the journey to discovering the culprit is more important than the reveal.
emergencia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second novel in the series that started with The Three Evangelists (read before I started blogging), and has just been released in English. Here the main character is Louis Kehlweiler (known to some as Ludwig). He has worked for various government ministries, most recently the Ministry of the Interior, but is not working at present. Louis has people all over France that look for information that might interest him, and send it along. He strongly believes in justice, rooting out corruption and incompetence, and finding answers. He also observes behaviour himself and has set places he goes to watch, benches and trees that he numbers.
At bench 102, he notices something out of place, a small human bone revealed from its previous encasement in dog excrement. He wants to track down the source, be it accident or murder, but knows that the commissaire of the local police won't value this evidence. He visits the station anyway, using this to further another of his plans.
Recently hired to sort through all the incoming information and file it appropriately is Marc, one of the three evangelists from the previous novel. Louis talks Marc into helping his investigation, and Marc ropes in Mathias to assist as well.
The trail leads the three from Paris to the remote Breton village of Port-Nicholas, where the dog in question lives. There, the three discover a comfortable cafe, an odd collector, a mayor spying on his rival, and a man that Louis has been looking for for far longer than this case.
I love the writing, the wordplay the author uses, and the quirky humour of this mystery series. Both for Louis and Marc, we see the inner thoughts as they jump around, repeat themselves and jump again. I also love the descriptions, which are ften surprising but vivid. Here are a couple of examples:
This one of the mayor of Port-Nicholas from Louis' view
His shapeless features and relaxed body language covered up any trace of his active thoughts. It was as if the thoughts were drowning until they rose to the surface and reached the light. Everything about him was submerged, floating, between two tides. A very fish character. Which made Louis realize that those round, wide-open eyes, which had seemed somehow familiar, were ones he had seen before -- on the fishmonger's slab.
and this one of the local spa owner from Marc's view
...who looked rather like a turtle made of boiled sugar that had stuck to the bottom of the saucepan in places, seemed far more virile than the engineer. He was smiling peacefully, as he listened to Sevran, his big hands resting on his thighs, and he shook them now and again as if to get rid of something -- melted sugar, Marc thought -- while casually noting, with his bright brown eyes, every movement -- in the cafe and of all who had taken refuge there.
Wonderful stuff. Hopefully the third in this series, already released in French, gets translated more quickly than this was.
At bench 102, he notices something out of place, a small human bone revealed from its previous encasement in dog excrement. He wants to track down the source, be it accident or murder, but knows that the commissaire of the local police won't value this evidence. He visits the station anyway, using this to further another of his plans.
Recently hired to sort through all the incoming information and file it appropriately is Marc, one of the three evangelists from the previous novel. Louis talks Marc into helping his investigation, and Marc ropes in Mathias to assist as well.
The trail leads the three from Paris to the remote Breton village of Port-Nicholas, where the dog in question lives. There, the three discover a comfortable cafe, an odd collector, a mayor spying on his rival, and a man that Louis has been looking for for far longer than this case.
I love the writing, the wordplay the author uses, and the quirky humour of this mystery series. Both for Louis and Marc, we see the inner thoughts as they jump around, repeat themselves and jump again. I also love the descriptions, which are ften surprising but vivid. Here are a couple of examples:
This one of the mayor of Port-Nicholas from Louis' view
His shapeless features and relaxed body language covered up any trace of his active thoughts. It was as if the thoughts were drowning until they rose to the surface and reached the light. Everything about him was submerged, floating, between two tides. A very fish character. Which made Louis realize that those round, wide-open eyes, which had seemed somehow familiar, were ones he had seen before -- on the fishmonger's slab.
and this one of the local spa owner from Marc's view
...who looked rather like a turtle made of boiled sugar that had stuck to the bottom of the saucepan in places, seemed far more virile than the engineer. He was smiling peacefully, as he listened to Sevran, his big hands resting on his thighs, and he shook them now and again as if to get rid of something -- melted sugar, Marc thought -- while casually noting, with his bright brown eyes, every movement -- in the cafe and of all who had taken refuge there.
Wonderful stuff. Hopefully the third in this series, already released in French, gets translated more quickly than this was.
emmalynn's review against another edition
4.0
Un excellent Vargas !
Même si je veux rester fidèle à Adamsberg, j'ai beaucoup apprécié découvrir Kehlweiler, son crapaud et la vieille Marthe. Comme toujours, énormément d'humanité chez les personnages de Fred Vargas.
L'intrigue et le suspense prennent leur temps pour s'installer, le tout s'accélère un peu quand on arrive en Bretagne où on découvre une atmosphère différente du Paris habituel de Vargas, mais tout aussi prenante.
Une avalanche de détails fascinants, comme d'habitude des personnages si farfelus qu'ils devraient me faire hausser les yeux au ciel, mais chez Fred Vargas, sans doute à cause de son talent, ça fonctionne toujours très bien et je me laisse toujours prendre au jeu de trouver le coupable parmi tous ces gens improbables.
Même si je veux rester fidèle à Adamsberg, j'ai beaucoup apprécié découvrir Kehlweiler, son crapaud et la vieille Marthe. Comme toujours, énormément d'humanité chez les personnages de Fred Vargas.
L'intrigue et le suspense prennent leur temps pour s'installer, le tout s'accélère un peu quand on arrive en Bretagne où on découvre une atmosphère différente du Paris habituel de Vargas, mais tout aussi prenante.
Une avalanche de détails fascinants, comme d'habitude des personnages si farfelus qu'ils devraient me faire hausser les yeux au ciel, mais chez Fred Vargas, sans doute à cause de son talent, ça fonctionne toujours très bien et je me laisse toujours prendre au jeu de trouver le coupable parmi tous ces gens improbables.
bengines's review against another edition
3.0
darn it, i think this would be a 4 but i *also* think i've read it before and didn't quite clock it?
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