Pars Vite et Reviens Tard, or Leave Quickly and Come Back Late. This is Catherine's favorite author, the one I mentioned a few books ago. I had read her first book, and Catherine said that that one wasn't her favorite. Well, now, after reading this one, I totally get it.
This book is about a serial killer in Paris - but one who decided to kill his victims with the black plague. Which isn't around anymore, right? Or is it? A seemingly random selection of victims. Who, of course, are anything but. And a very complex reveal of who the killer is.
I loved the complexity of this book. It opens with two parallel stories: a modern-day town crier reading mysterious submissions, which makes his acquaintance suspicious; a homicide detective pulled into what appear to be number 4s graffitied on random doors. You know, from the beginning, that these two plot lines are going to come together. But they don't do so until about 1/3 of the way through the book. In the meantime, you get to know the characters and really understand what's happening. Then with the introduction of the black plague - which is what the mysterious submissions are actually about, and which the 4s are linked to as well - it all becomes fascinating.
Detective Adamsburg is the main man on the scene; he's the homicide detective. And I love the details that are brought into this story that aren't related to the murders but that feel like they couldn't have been left out of the book. His girlfriend, Camille, and their relationship...It adds such a depth to things, a richness not just to Adamsburg but to the story overall.
At the end, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, who was going to be behind it all, and I thought it was really well done. So kudos to this book. In comparison to the other Fred Vargas I read, it's clear that her writing matured very well. The other book, while enjoyable, was more - I don't know - formulaic, almost. A younger writing style, less mature. This one is rich, complex, layered, in a whole different league. I look forward to reading the two others that Catherine selected for me.
Rich, complex, layered? It's funny that you use these words to describe the growth of the writer. I was listening to a singer/song writer and she spoke of taking song-writing workshops and such. I just thought there were some people out there with a natural talent for writing songs. Same same for writing stories...there can be a depth and complexity to the writer that may be developed over time rather than coming naturally. But what the hell do I know?
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