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Joss LeGuern has had a vision from his grandfather which directs him to establish himself as a town crier in a plaza in Paris. Seemingly a profession that no longer exists, LeGuern succeeds at building an audience with his thrice daily proclamations. The public submits messages to be read by Joss along with a small fee. Some are advertising things for sale; others expressing a point of view. The ones that don't make sense seem to be quotations from some archaic work in the past. But they do make sense after all, at least to local hotel owner and former scholar Herve Decambrais. The quotes seem familiar to him; his research reveals that they are from works written centuries earlier and are referring to the spread of the Black Plague. In fact, the messages seem to be predicting an outbreak in Paris. Suddenly, mysterious signs are being painted on the doors of Parisian apartment buildings. When a concerned citizen alerts Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, he follows the clues and determines that someone is about to spread the plague. His suspicions are confirmed when a body appears in one of the marked buildings. The cause of death at least superficially looks like the plague, with rat-flea bites but blackened by charcoal rather than naturally. Adamsberg has reached his position by dint of his success in investigating cases rather than through the usual channels of seniority and influence. He has an unerring intuitive sense. His second-in-command, Adrien Danglard, is more of a logical thinker; however, he has learned to pay close attention to Adamsberg's strange interpretations and conclusions about the crimes they investigate. One endearing trait of Adamsberg is the fact that he cannot remember names and has to keep a memory jogger so that he can identify the people who work for him. The book got off to a slow start for me, as I had difficulty in buying in to the whole concept of the town crier. Quite a bit of time was spent establishing that scenario. Once the narrative moved from that focus, I found myself thoroughly engaged by the unusual plot and even more unusual protagonist. Part thriller and part police procedural, HAVE MERCY ON US ALL is an arresting and original work, with several creepy twists. Vargas brings to life the fear and panic that would ensue if a plague were unleashed-or an outbreak of Avian flu or the latest possible pandemic. I have a feeling that Adamsberg is going to be a favorite character for me. I can hardly wait for the rest of Vargas's books to be translated into English. HAVE MERCY ON US ALL is not the first book in the series. However, reading out of sequence had no impact on my enjoyment of the book. Magnifique, merci! PS: Fred Vargas is a female author.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, January 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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