MADreads

The wound that won’t heal

September 24th, 2008 Katie H.

It was a type of wound that Commissaire Adamsberg thought he would never see again. Three stab wounds perfectly aligned, each the exact same depth on the victim’s stomach, as if made by a trident. For most of his life, Adamsberg had pursued the serial killer known as the Judge through multiple victims in every corner of France, but never saw the man brought to justice. Fifteen years ago, Adamsberg’s quest ended when he witnessed the Judge’s burial after a natural death.

Which makes the reappearance of the Judge’s modus operandi especially chilling. In Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand, the stakes get much more personal for the detective. Shortly after the discovery near Strasbourg of a young woman’s body with the telltale marks, Adamsberg is called away to a workshop in Ottawa. After a night of drowning his sorrows, Adamsberg wakes up alone and bloody on a deserted walking path, with no recollection of the previous hours. When Canadian investigators find the body of a troubled woman with whom Adamsberg had a one night stand, the police immediately close in, forcing Adamsberg into the impossible position of fleeing one set of authorities while trying to work with his own Paris Serious Crime Squad in tracking down the Judge. In the effort to convince his colleagues of a resurrected Judge, Adamsberg struggles with the possiblity that his own demons might have gotten the better of him. 

French author Fred Vargas is well known for her complex characters, and this third installment in the Adamsberg series does not disappoint. The secondary characters are vitally key to Vargas’ intricate plot, as their strengths and failures have serious consequences on Adamsberg’s guilt or innocence.  Adamsberg knows second in command Danglard has unquestionable loyalty–although who that loyalty is towards remains murky. Cool-headed and perceptive Lieutenant Retancourt startles everyone, including Adamsberg, with the depth of her abilities and resources. 

Fans of Georges Simenon’s might find Adamsberg’s blend of humor, perception and tenacity a fitting modern counterpart to the classic Maigret series. Unlike that series, however, Adamsberg relies on a much larger and unexpectedly talented cast of characters to unravel crimes.  Vargas, a winner of the CWA International Dagger, has penned three other titles in the Adamsberg series, with another set for release in 2009.

Entry Filed under: Mystery