Paris in July 2021 - A Climate of Fear (Temps glaciaires) by Fred Vargas

Time for a French author for Paris in July. Fred Vargas is a favourite and I found an e-book copy from my library. This is book number 10 in the Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg series. Adamsberg is not the ordinary detective and so are not his colleagues. I think that is one reason why I enjoy Vargas' books. The whole police precinct consists of individual characters with, sometimes, strange habits. The other reason I enjoy her books is that the murder stories often go back in time and often have historical links. As is the case in this book. Here we go back to Maximilian Robespierre and the French Revolution.

"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. When the symbol is found near the body of a second disguised suicide, a pattern begins to emerge: both victims were part of a disastrous expedition to Iceland over ten years ago where a group of tourists found themselves trapped on a deserted island for two weeks, surrounded by a thick, impenetrable fog rumored to be summoned by an ancient local demon. Two of them didn t make it back alive. But how are the deaths linked to the secretive Association for the Study of the Writings of Maximilien Robespierre? And what does the mysterious symbol signify?"

A thrilling mystery set both in France and on Iceland. The search for the murder is going slowly, but what I can imagine as rather realistic. Adamsberg finds a clue here, another there, and when they seem to show him in different directions, he might go for a walk to clear his head. Or drink a bear with his neighbour. Sooner or later the clues come together and he can present the culprit. Not in grand style like Monsieur Poirot, but with discretion. 

The story moves slowly forward and have all the features for a good detective story. Old family drama, threats, peculiar societies, mysterious murders and much more. What about a wild boar as a domestic animal? People obsessed with Maximilian Robespierre dressing up in 18th century clothes and re-enacting his speeches. A lot of things to find here. The culprit is hidden until the very end, but he/she cannot trick commissaire Adamsberg. A very exciting read that kept me up until late.