AUDIO

A Climate of Fear

by Fred Vargas
(Commissaire Adamsberg, Bk. 10). 13 CDs. 15:27 hrs. HighBridge. Mar. 2017. ISBN 9781681685915. $39.99. digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Commissaire Adamsberg's tenth series installment, the second available in audio in the United States, finds him and his team embroiled in an investigation that runs them to numerous parts of France and finally to Iceland. The first suicide seems routine, but a mysterious symbol at the scene tickles Adamsberg's suspicion, and as bodies pile up, the victims are found to have visited a remote island off Iceland's shore, a day trip turned into a two-week nightmare. Another connection ties victims to a historical society formed to reenact meetings of the revolution's Committee of Public Safety. The plot is complex and rich with historical detail but short on action. Repetitive dialog among the detectives slows movement. Chris MacDonnell's beautifully accented, precise reading adds more weight.
VERDICT While Vargas has won numerous international mystery and thriller awards, she is not well known in the United States. This book, which stands well alone, is a good introduction. ["An entertaining atmospheric mystery, touched with a soupçon of the supernatural": LJ Xpress Reviews 3/3/17 review of the Penguin hc.]
Reviewed by Janet Martin, formerly with Southern Pines P.L., NC , Jul 01, 2017
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