The Chalk Circle Man [Paperback]

Vargas Fred (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harvill Sacker; Second Printing edition (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843432722
• ISBN-13: 978-1843432722
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,615,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fred Vargas was born in Paris in 1957. As well as being a best-selling author in France, she is an historian and archaeologist.

She worked at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), which she joined in 1988. She later joined the Institut Pasteur, as a eukaryotic archaeologist.

She mostly writes police thrillers (policiers). They take place in Paris and feature the adventures of Chief Inspector Adamsberg and his team. Her interest in the Middle Ages is manifest in many of her novels, especially through the person of Marc Vandoosler, a young specialist in the period. Seeking Whom He May Devour was shortlisted by the British Crime Writers' Association for the last Gold Dagger award for best crime novel of the year, and the following year The Three Evangelists won the inaugural Duncan Lawrie International Dagger. She also won the award for the second year-running with Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first of a great series, April 26, 2009

By 

J. Gabrielson (Walnut Creek, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chalk Circle Man (Hardcover)

The first novel in a great series by Fred Vargas, who has created a most unique "hero" in the person of Inspector Adamsberg. I love the way his mind works( or doesn't:-). I love the secondary characters who act as foils for the intuitive Adamsberg. They reason logically and most know a great many more details about the world than does Adamsberg. Yet, it is the seemingly bumbling Adamberg who reaches the correct conclusion through his superb ability to associate many disparate details and use pattern thinking to find the truth. I cannot wait for more of these wonderful novels to be translated into English. I have all that are currently available and I highly recommend each and every one of them.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Commissaire Adamsberg : The early days, August 25, 2009

By 

Carol Karas (Camarillo, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chalk Circle Man: A Commissaire Adamsberg Mystery (Commissaire Adamsberg Mysteries) (Paperback)

I became an enthusiastic fan of Fred Vargas and Commissaire Adamsberg after I picked up and read This Night's Foul Work. I have been working my way backwards though the series and discovering the source of the relationships between the main characters. While The Chalk Circle Man introduces Commissaire Adamsberg and his unique approach to solving crimes, it lacks the rich and clever language that makes the later Adamsberg novels sparkle. I enjoyed it for the background of the characters and now appreciate the fantastic growth of Fred Vargas as a writer. Don't miss this series, it is a gem.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stand-Out from an Outstanding French author, September 28, 2009

By 

Lisa Marie (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chalk Circle Man: A Commissaire Adamsberg Mystery (Commissaire Adamsberg Mysteries) (Paperback)

Another customer reviewer summed it up best: this series and especially this book is "a gem". I've heard of Fred Vargas for a long while but kept resisting trying her novels (perhaps it was the dreary black and white cover art?). My only complaint is that I waited so long. I started with The Three Evangelists, a stand-alone novel, then picked up the Chalk Circle Man, the first in her series. The main character, Paris Commissaire Adamsberg, is an endearing oddball of sorts. In both his personal and professional lives, people have a difficult time figuing him out which naturally sets him apart from the crowd and often makes life lonely.

I was impressed with the characters, plotting, writing style (including the excellent translation) and the realistic depiction of French people and culture. For fans of international crime fiction, or Simenon/Maigret, do yourself a favor and read The Chalk Circle Man.