A Climate of Fear: Fred Vargas trans Sian Reynolds

I am about half way through A Climate of Fear by Fred Vargas, and it is nice to be back reading one of my favourite crime writers. Of course Vargas has won the CWA International Dagger four times, and it would not surprise me if this latest novel wins again. A complex plot which features a ten year old trip to Iceland in which a crazed killer murdered two tourists, and then terrified the rest of the tour party into silence, is followed by killings in modern day France and an extraordinary society dedicated to the study of the writings of Maximillien Robespierre. 

If this quirky Gallic plot is not enough for the reader we are reintroduced to Commissaire Adamsberg and his eccentric team of detectives. 

Mercadet’s asleep, said Estalere, counting on his fingers, ‘Danglard’s having a drink, Retancourt’s feeding the cat, Froissy’s watching her screen. But what about the rest of us. 

Danglard, Adamsberg’s right hand man is probably the most interesting of these characters. His phenomenal memory and finely tuned brain thrives on a diet of white wine. But what can you say about the plots of the Vargas books…

‘De l’audace, encore de l’audace, toujours de l’audace…..’

Anyone who hasn’t read Fred Vargas is in for a real treat.