On the outskirts of Paris, two men have been found with their throats cut. In Normandy, two stags have been killed and their hearts cut out. Meanwhile a seventy-five-year-old nurse who has murdered several of her patients has escaped from prison. Is there a connection between the three cases?

In this mystery, Commissaire Adamsberg is pitted against nemeses past and present: Ariane Lagarde, France's foremost pathologist and Adamsberg's enemy since they argued over a case twenty-three years earlier, and Louis Veyrenc, a new recruit with a grudge, who has been assigned the job of protecting the Commissaire's ex-girlfriend. As the different strands of Vargas's compelling story begin to intertwine, events move towards a gripping climax...


Shortlisted for the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger.

Another riveting case for that most engaging of contemporary detectives, Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, and another triumph from Fred Vargas, twice winner of the Duncan Lawrie International Dagger.

About the Author
Fred Vargas was born in Paris in 1957. A historian and archaeologist by profession, she is now a bestselling novelist. Her books have sold over 10 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 45 languages.

Reviews
Fred Vargas ... is rapidly asserting herself as one of the most impressive working crime writers * Metro *
Stylish prose and strong characters * Financial Times *
Irresistibly gripping, powerfully written and quite often frightening * The Times *
The fascination of Fred Vargas's books is due as much to her characters as her plots... sit back and enjoy * Sunday Telegraph *
If you haven't cottoned on to Vargas's brilliant Adamsberg detective stories, you're missing a treat * Scotland on Sunday *


Awards
Short-listed for CWA Duncan Lawrie International Dagger 2008.



Book Information
ISBN 9780099507628
Author Fred Vargas
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 287g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 25mm