Sur la dalle: Thriller (Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, 12)

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Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business (Corsair, Oct) by Roxane Gay Se il Caso è vivo si procede all’interrogatorio (anamnesi), si cercano le prove ( indagini strumentali e biochimiche), si mette in atto una prima ipotesi di colpevolezza ( di diagnosi) si aspettano i risultati positivi di una terapia o di un primo dato d’accusa, se si è fortunati : inquirenti e parte lesa o medici e pazienti. Lo stile è il solito, dialoghi frequenti, ironia tagliente, e anche il nostro caro "spalatore di nuvole", Adamsberg, è preso tra le sue solite riflessioni durante innumerevoli camminate, per arrivare a risolvere un caso che ha sempre a che fare con una paura ancestrale, una fobia eterna. Qui abbiamo degli anziani che muoiono dopo il morso di un ragno all'apparenza innocuo. Manca la doppia ambientazione che di solito alterna Parigi a un paese straniero, nonostante all'apertura Adamsberg si trovi in Islanda (ma non mi pare ci ritorni, e uso il verbo "mi pare" perchè, nell'assenza di passione, potrei essermi persa qualcosa).

So. Because you’re a mostly clueless bunch of mostly clueless (albeit almost charming) barnacles, you’ve probably never heard of this gloriously glorious series. I’d tell you about it, but puny humans to slaughter and kingdoms to overtake and stuff, which means you’ll have to look elsewhere (albeit not very far) for a thoroughly accurate, fantastically sharp, in-depth description of the series. Adamsberg investigates the appearance of strange inscriptions on the doors of a Parisian building: an inverted four and underneath three letters, CLT. Joss, an old sailor, receives letters telling him where the next graffiti will be. And panic and murders invade Paris when it is the plague that seems to have spread. Otro aspecto negativo es el tratamiento que Vargas da a algunos de sus personajes, con los que no parece saber qué hacer después de tantos años. Innecesaria alguna de las subtramas (no desvelaré de cuál se trata) con uno de los personajes más queridos, que no aporta nada a la historia, rebaja al personaje y parece una pobre excusa para justificar que dicho individuo no participe en la investigación. A otros personajes secundarios simplemente se los ha quitado de encima; un hecho más justificado, en mi opinión, pues ya habían dado de sí lo que podían e incluso sobraban en las últimas aventuras de Adamsberg y cía.As an historian and an eukaryotic archaeologist Vargas wrote a definitive work on the bubonic plague, and her knowledge certainly contributes to the story's plot. There is certainly nothing usual or ordinary about this case to which Adamsberg is attracted, as well as the realism of having the squad working more than the one case. There are very good twists and an escalation in the depth of the crimes involved and in the tension within the team. Yet it is all the characters, which are the core of the story, including Louise Chevier and Adamsberg's brother, a revelation in his own life, and the return of the imagery of a ship, which keeps us immersed in the story. Vargas plays fair with the reader. As Adamsberg begins to put the pieces together, so may we. Vargas doesn’t spare us the grisly details of outrageous crimes committed against defenseless girls and women, but never have I ever wanted to be in a mystery novel before. The characterizations of police officers and villagers are so full of personality, intelligence, and humor that one cannot help but wish these folks were by one’s side—or at least televised. I sobbalzi della deambulazione mettono in moto le microbolle che gironzolano nel cervello. Si muovono, si incrociano, si scontrano. E quando si cercano dei pensieri è una delle cose da fare.

Una storia dolorosa e tragica che affonda le radici nel passato, ma che manifesta i risvolti peggiori nel presente; o meglio, come la racconta il commissario, la sua è "un'indagine che sprofonda negli abissi, quelli del passato come quelli della mente." A woman is found murdered in her bathtub, and the murder has been made to look like a suicide. But a strange symbol found at the crime scene leads the local police to call Commissaire Adamsberg and his team. Had this been any other series and/or any other author, I probably would have rated the book two pathetically miserable little stars. But it isn’t and/or it isn’t, so I didn’t. Because this cast. This atmostphere. This originality. I’m telling you, my Tiny Decapods, Adamsberg and his team are the most delicious bunch of utterly unconventional, wonderfully eccentric weirdoes you’ll ever read about. I recently finished my first mystery novel by French writer Fred Vargas, a CWA Dagger award winner. As much as I love exploring the world of crime fiction, it boggles my mind that there’s even more to explore, if I could just read multiple languages 😆. E che dire di Danglard? Di colui che mi ha sbatacchiata per tutto il romanzo tra rabbia e compassione?

Fred Vargas, a best-selling author

No-one writes quite like Fred Vargas – Correction! No-one writes anything like Fred Vargas. Her plotting is intricate, internally credible yet still totally bizarre. Her fund of specialist knowledge is used to full effect without the aid of “consultants” - she is, after all, a graduate in History, archaeology and zoology. On top of this is a large cast of bizarre and highly memorable characters; all overlaid with a wry, distinctly Gallic, sense of humour. In Fred Vargas's riveting new novel, Commissaire Adamsberg finds himself in the line of fire as never before. Read more Details Sorry, can’t always control myself when it comes to those characters. Oh, and by the way, I’m the hot babe on the right, in case you were wondering. According to Wikipedia, four of the Vargas mystery series have been serialized for television. I saw one, once, years ago. It was painful, considering the renown of French cinema and the intrigue of the novels. it is definitely time for a new rendition. Adamsberg is a terrific creation and his team of misfits a joy to watch in action.” —Peter Robinson, New York Timesbestselling author of the Inspector Banks series

A sprawling survey of the evolution of women’s bodies over 200m years, Cat Bohannon’s deeply researched book covers everything, as the author herself puts it, “from tits to toes”. Partly, it’s a bid to correct the “male norm” – the fact that scientists default to male bodies, be they mouse or human, when studying things in the lab. That means that models of normal functioning and disease all skew male, as do the treatments that are then developed. But this isn’t just a book for women: Bohannon invites you to “think of yourself: to think about where your body comes from, how the evolution of biological sex shapes it – whether you identify as a man, a woman, or another gender”. Et si moi aussi j'avais deviné l'identité du coupable, ça ne m'a pas dérangée un quart de seconde, il s'agit d'un Fred Vargas pas d'un Gillian Flynn, le plaisir de la lecture se trouve dans l'écriture et dans l'univers si particulier, pas purement dans le "whodunit". D'autant que je n'avais pas du tout démasqué le pourquoi et le comment cette personne tuait. Adamsberg is a terrific creation and his team of misfits a joy to watch in action.”—Peter Robinson,New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Banks series

Samantha Harvey is a beautiful stylist; in Orbital (Cape, Nov) a group of astronauts look down on our fragile Earth. It’s a slim, profound study of intimate human fears set against epic vistas of swirling weather patterns and rolling continents. Infatti è in queste bolle che si annida la quisquiglia che è sfuggita e che nobilita il dubbio, a volte scambiato per accidia, impedendo di comminare la pena definitiva o il verdetto infausto.

At the National Museum of Natural History, Adamsberg meets a pensioner who tells him that two of the three octogenarians have known each other since childhood, when they lived in a local orphanage called The Mercy. There, they had belonged to a small group of violent young boys known as the “band of recluses.” Adamsberg faces two obstacles: the third man killed by the same venom was not part of the “band of recluses”, and the amount of spider venom necessary to kill doesn’t add up. O è "colpa" mia, e le vicende di Adamsberg iniziano a stancarmi (ma non propendo per questa ipotesi, perchè io non mi stanco mai di quello che mi piace, vedi De Giovanni e il ciclo di Ricciardi, che ho letto per intero e che leggerei all'infinito senza che il mio interesse cali un briciolo!), oppure è Fred ad essere stanca dei suoi personaggi e ad avere bisogno di cercare nuove trame e nuove storie. Ma esiste anche una terza ipotesi, la più triste e temibile. E cioè che qualcuno stia iniziando a scrivere al posto suo, un po' come sospetto da anni accada con Stephen King, i cui ultimi romanzi, infatti, non hanno nulla (ma proprio nulla!) a che vedere con i suoi capolavori stile "It" o "Shining". Eppure qui lo stile pare lo stesso. E' solo la crescente antipatia fra Adamsberg e Danglard, sempre più distanti, che non mi spiego. Iceland appears to be the pays du jour for many crime writers these days. Even France’s finest can’t resist sending her main protagonist Commisaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg to the remote island of Grimsey for the opening chapter of this novel. The poor guy’s phone falls in a pile of sheep dung and then is trodden upon by a ewe: without malice, of course! If you’re ready to match wits with the Commissaire? Start reading! Share with us in the comments below if you’ve read any Vargas novels?Worlds that closely resemble the real one, except that beliefs, tales, apparitions, even professions, from the Middle Ages fit in seamlessly.”— The Philadelphia Inquirer The epistolary novel Yours from the Tower by Sally Nicholls (Andersen, Sept) explores the hopes, struggles and first loves of three friends at the end of the 19th century, who have left boarding school for very different lives.