Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand

Credit Vargas for transcending the traditional potboiler. Her characters are complex and fascinating and the plot twists through a myriad of dimensions that leave the reader breathless. This is the best mystery I have read in ages.

This is Ms. Vargas's best mystery yet - I really enjoyed the twists and turns in it - highly recommended

interesting to find out what makes Adamsberg tick. Sometimes a bit unrealistic but then all Fred Vargas books are a bit unrealistic, that's what explains their charm.

Vargas yet again proves why she is probably the #1 mystery writer in the world with this book, the 3rd of the Commissaire Adamsberg series. The book takes place in France and in Canada, but much of it explores the genius of a methodical killer who's mind clearly outmatches the protagonist Adamsberg - in fact, in many ways, that's the true brilliance of the book. How many mysteries can you recall where the main investigator was aware of how he simply could not get ahead of the killer no matter what he tried? Where each time the killer struck, the investigator was a day late and a dollar short? Where the clues began to add up, but were completely open to multiple interpretations? And, as the story goes on, you begin to even distrust some of the Commissaire's colleagues, wondering what's going on - you feel true empathy with Adamsberg, the protagonist. And that is the result of a master writer at work. Hopefully, as Vargas becomes more recognized in the US, her books will become easier to obtain. For now, the wait is more than worth it. J. Avellanet, Co-Founder of Cerulean Associates LLC

Fred Vargas is in a league of her own when it comes to crafting a book of Continental crime. As attested by my manic list elsewhere, the wealth of crime fiction translated from Europe over the past few years is American readers' good fortune. These books from Scandinavia,Italy, France, Germany have a bracing tone of their own. They are poetry for insomniacs, exercising the mind, bracing the spirit at the end of the day -- with an egg-flip of humor lacing each page. Vargas populates her plots with a cabinet of curiosities, most a bit broken and peculiar but with powerful heart and mind: and her evil villains are so much like her good guys, she keeps you tantalized throughout. What floats her books far above the rest, however, is that they're saturated with the rich brown jus of historical humanism--so satisfying!-- like a meaty cassoulet that's been simmering all week. Taste and see! These are great books for readers bored by the pulpy gruel of American mysteries, serial killers and mawkish macho detectives. (And if you haven't read her yet, I'd suggest starting with "Seeking Whom He May Devour" or "The Three Evangelists." It's amusing to watch the characters develop. This book is the 4th translated into English. I hope we don't need to wait another whole year for the next one.)