This Night's Foul Work

Book excerpt: A phenomenal bestseller in France, This Night’s Foul Work is another irresistible installment in the internationally acclaimed Commissaire Adamsberg series. On the edge of Paris two small-time drug dealers have had their throats cut in a peculiar fashion. Setting out on the trail of the shadowy killer, Commissaire Adamsberg and his detectives travel between Paris and the Normandy countryside. Adamsberg’s investigation into these horrible deaths brings him into contact with the attractive Ariane Lagarde –a pathologist who caused him professional grief some twenty-five years ago. There’s also a new lieutenant on the scene, whose ties to Adamsberg’s past create tension and hostility in his present. Vargas has given us another multi-layered, deliciously-paced and thrilling addition to her acclaimed series. This Night’s Foul Work is the finest novel yet from the wonderful Fred Vargas.