false 392969 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174406836m/392969.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174406836s/392969.jpg 392969 21 2845151 book 1991 L'Homme Aux Cercles Bleus total:159|5:4|4:12|3:11|2:2|1:0| 159 577 241 33 68906 3.80 1353 241 47145691 76138 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.15 13 1991 2 1 false Sun Feb 22 09:23:20 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 16:07:10 -0800 2009
This isn...more...]]> 74969869 250195 6391885 0307396878 9780307396877 4 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6391885-the-chalk-circle-man 3.64 14 1991 4 2 false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 18:31:53 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 18:36:22 -0700 2009
Someone is drawing chalk circles on the streets of Paris. Initially, each surrounds such mundane items such as an old handbag, a cotton bud, a one-franc coin, a torch ba...more...]]> 74380128 1756641 6568759 0307396886 9780307396884 3 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6568759-the-chalk-circle-man 4.00 3 1991 0 0 false Tue Oct 13 07:28:56 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 07:29:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 70979999 1478144 6057611 0143115952 9780143115953 8 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415m/6057611.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415s/6057611.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6057611.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.45 22
The Chalk Circle Man is the first book featuring Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, one of the most engaging characters in contemporary detective fiction.

When strange, blue chalk circles start appearing overnight on the pavements of Paris, the press take up the story with amusement and psychiatrists trot out their theories. Adamsberg is alone in thinking this is not a game and far from amusing. He insists on being kept informed of new circles and the increasingly bizarre objects which they contain: empty beer cans, four trombones, a pigeon’s foot, four cigarette lighters, a badge proclaiming “I Love Elvis,” a hat, a doll’s head. Adamsberg senses the cruelty that lies behind these seemingly random occurrences. Soon a circle with decidedly less banal contents is discovered: the body of a woman with her throat savagely cut. Adamsberg knows that other murders will follow.]]> 1991 4 0 false Sat Sep 12 14:00:19 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 14:05:12 -0700 2009 I hadn't heard of Fred Vargas or her Commissaire Adamsberg novels until I read that this one had won the International Dagger, and that indeed Vargas had won it several times before with other Adamsberg novels. Which was pretty perplexing, as this is the first in the series . . .

The Daggers ...more...]]> 65442980 1361000 6057611 0143115952 9780143115953 8 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415m/6057611.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415s/6057611.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6057611.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159
The Chalk Circle Man is the first book featuring Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, one of the most engaging characters in contemporary detective fiction.

When strange, blue chalk circles start appearing overnight on the pavements of Paris, the press take up the story with amusement and psychiatrists trot out their theories. Adamsberg is alone in thinking this is not a game and far from amusing. He insists on being kept informed of new circles and the increasingly bizarre objects which they contain: empty beer cans, four trombones, a pigeon’s foot, four cigarette lighters, a badge proclaiming “I Love Elvis,” a hat, a doll’s head. Adamsberg senses the cruelty that lies behind these seemingly random occurrences. Soon a circle with decidedly less banal contents is discovered: the body of a woman with her throat savagely cut. Adamsberg knows that other murders will follow.]]> 1991 3 0 false Wed Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 13:51:52 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 13:52:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 70649525 2065514 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 3 1 false Fri Sep 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 16:05:15 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 17:59:16 -0700 2009 1
He is concerned as the items in the chalk circles progress, yesterday a mouse, today a cat, he wonders what next. The...more...]]> 67372366 43269 6650932 4 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6650932-chalk-circle-man 4.00 7 1991 5 0 false Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 08:20:26 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 06:09:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 68923132 121445 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 2 0 false Wed Aug 26 02:20:46 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 06:25:04 -0700 2009 The Chalk Circle Man plays deftly with the conventions of the crime genre, but as a result, it loses the easy entertainment value traditionally associated with the whodunnit.

I found it difficult to get into this novel. The shifting POV doesn’t help, nor do the exaggeratedly ‘eccentri...more...]]> 47837885 180643 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 3 0 false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 18:17:33 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 18:29:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 71600287 348527 6057611 0143115952 9780143115953 8 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415m/6057611.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415s/6057611.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6057611.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159
The Chalk Circle Man is the first book featuring Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, one of the most engaging characters in contemporary detective fiction.

When strange, blue chalk circles start appearing overnight on the pavements of Paris, the press take up the story with amusement and psychiatrists trot out their theories. Adamsberg is alone in thinking this is not a game and far from amusing. He insists on being kept informed of new circles and the increasingly bizarre objects which they contain: empty beer cans, four trombones, a pigeon’s foot, four cigarette lighters, a badge proclaiming “I Love Elvis,” a hat, a doll’s head. Adamsberg senses the cruelty that lies behind these seemingly random occurrences. Soon a circle with decidedly less banal contents is discovered: the body of a woman with her throat savagely cut. Adamsberg knows that other murders will follow.]]> 1991 4 0 false Thu Nov 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Sep 17 16:28:20 -0700 2009 Fri Nov 27 12:51:26 -0800 2009 more...]]> 47809681 305802 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 0 0 false Sun May 17 12:16:13 -0700 2009 Sat Feb 28 12:54:42 -0800 2009 Sun May 17 12:16:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 43661264 1291463 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 4 0 false Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jan 19 20:47:56 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 30 21:32:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 62494219 563402 6568759 0307396886 9780307396884 3 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6568759-the-chalk-circle-man 3.63 159 1991 5 0 false Tue Jul 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 11:29:15 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 11:30:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 64329659 272081 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 4 0 false Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 00:45:30 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 00:03:16 -0700 2009 The first of this series only translated this year into English. I really enjoy Vargas' style though it is not going to be to everyone's taste. It seems very French and very different to the more hard-bitten style of some Eurocrime.

This serves as a good introduction to Commissaire ...more...]]> 48672601 1995888 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 2 0 false Tue Mar 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 01:56:15 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 13:53:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 64273335 2542989 392969 2290318329 9782290318324 3 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174406836m/392969.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174406836s/392969.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/392969.L_Homme_Aux_Cercles_Bleus 3.59 69 1991 4 0 false Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 15:36:54 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 15:41:29 -0700 2009 A great start to a series that gets better with each book.]]> 49321137 1941216 6114585 1843432722 9781843432722 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6114585.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159 1991 5 0 false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 04:03:29 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 05:25:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 79124852 1035168 6057611 0143115952 9780143115953 8 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415m/6057611.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255701415s/6057611.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6057611.The_Chalk_Circle_Man 3.63 159
The Chalk Circle Man is the first book featuring Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, one of the most engaging characters in contemporary detective fiction.

When strange, blue chalk circles start appearing overnight on the pavements of Paris, the press take up the story with amusement and psychiatrists trot out their theories. Adamsberg is alone in thinking this is not a game and far from amusing. He insists on being kept informed of new circles and the increasingly bizarre objects which they contain: empty beer cans, four trombones, a pigeon’s foot, four cigarette lighters, a badge proclaiming “I Love Elvis,” a hat, a doll’s head. Adamsberg senses the cruelty that lies behind these seemingly random occurrences. Soon a circle with decidedly less banal contents is discovered: the body of a woman with her throat savagely cut. Adamsberg knows that other murders will follow.]]> 1991 3 0 false Fri Nov 27 10:41:44 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 09 10:14:56 -0800 2009 59484654 2413687 6391885 0307396878 9780307396877 4 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6391885-the-chalk-circle-man 3.63 159 1991 5 0 false Fri Jun 12 23:04:28 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 01:58:31 -0700 2009 67487717 1488279 6650932 4 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6650932-chalk-circle-man 3.63 159 1991 3 0 false Sat Aug 15 08:22:50 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 15:22:47 -0700 2009 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=392969