Author:Robert Ferrigno
Danny DiMedici's ex-wife Laura is missing, there's a corpse in her blood-spattered beach house, and Danny is the prime suspect. Desperate to get to Laura before the cops, Danny returns to the underworld he had known as a drug-dealer, a world of fast sex and hard drugs, casual violence and sudden death. Danny walks the knife-edge between law and order and dark dealings, but as the line begins to blur he must decide, once and for all, where he stands.
One of the most fetchingly weird detectives...Adamsberg is a bit like Morse, but much more French. An unusual, eccentric thriller
—— Daily TelegraphFred Vargas has everything: complex and surprising plots, good pace, various and eccentric characters, a sense of place and history, individualized dialogue, wit and style
—— Times Literary SupplementMoody, tense and grotesque, Vargas's prize-winning novel is a fascinating exploration of Paris's dark side
—— GuardianNo procedural, this, as we follow the twists and turns of Adamsberg's intuition - but it is thoroughly high-class entertainment, notably as Vargas is not afraid to test herself with the narrative
—— Time OutOn the basis of this elegantly twisted crime novel, Vargas is clearly an author who will rank alongside Henning Mankell. The detective, Commissaire Adamsberg, is the antithesis of Sherlock Homes: intuitive, preternaturally alert to hunches, and shabbier than Colombo. The plot kinks and switches in an utterly compelling manner. Creepy, sophisticated and wonderfully off-beat
—— Scotland on SundayRedhill's mild prose is dense with powerful emotional insights. Like Martin's art, it inspires a feeling of stillness and calm, of looking down on things from above; while underneath rest layer upon layer of meaning, prompting reflection on the novel's images and understandings long after the last page is reached.
—— The TimesHauntingly good.
—— ElleA first novel with a rich centre... not a word to spare or an image too many.
—— Montreal GazetteOften intriguing... Jolene's youthful crassness and belated recognit ion or everything she lost are sharply and movingly evoked.
—— Sunday TimesIts combination of Grand Guignol and place setting does command attention
—— Metro LondonOriginal, moving and entertaining for adults as well as for older children
—— Julia Donaldson , Daily ExpressA deservedly acclaimed read.
—— Time Out London