Book Review: The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas

The opera singer Sophia Siméonidis wakes up one morning to discover that a tree has appeared overnight in the garden of her Paris house. Intrigued and unnerved, she turns to her neighbours: Vandoosler, an ex-cop, and three impecunious historians, Mathias, Marc and Lucien - the three evangelists. They agree to dig around the tree and see if something has been buried there. They find nothing but soil. A few weeks later, Sophia disappears and her body is found burned to ashes in a car. Who killed the opera singer? Her husband, her ex-lover, her best friend, her niece? They all seem to have a motive. Vandoosler and the three evangelists set out to find the truth.

I was looking for French crime authors for my #InternationalCrime meme, and I stumbled upon Fred Vargas. Winner of International Dagger Award for three times, she (Fred is shortened from Frédérique) is not just a writer, but also historian and archaeologist. I assumed that I would love her books, and I wasn't wrong.

The Three Evangelists is her first book which won International Dagger Award and it is written in 1995, translated in English in 2006. The story starts with an opera singer, Sophia Siméonidis, who wakes up one morning just to notice a big tree in her backyard, a tree that wasn't there the day before. She is a famous person and she considers this as a personal threat from a lunatic fan. The house next door is a home of four extraordinary people. Armand Vandoosler, a former police commissaire, his god-son Marc, Lucien and Matthias. The old Vandoosler names the three young men the three evangelists, Saint-Mark, Saint-Luke and Saint-Matthew. The three evangelists are historians, for different time of history and they are all live in their own world, in the time they study. Sophia asks their help for the tree, they dig it and find nothing. But soon after that, Sophia disappears. Later, her body is found burned in what suppose to be a car accident.

The three young historians with the help of the old former detective are in the search of their neighbour's killers. Who would think that the knowledge of history can help solving a murder?

Saint-Marc, Saint-Luke and Saint-Matthew are so original characters. Each one of them lives in his own world, each one of them is some kind of knight in shining armour. Some people might consider them lunatic, but they are all very intelligent and perfectly stand on their own feet. Their conversations are even more interesting than the plot itself. Their medieval knowledge is perfectly incorporated in not just the plot itself, but also in their every day fights and talks and their own very unique view of the world.

There are other characters in the story, characters that might be involved in the murder. The husband, the neighbour, the niece, they are all suspects. They all seem like nice people, all of them concerned for Sophia's death. But nothing can trick the old commissaire's eye. And with the help of his three house mates, Sophia can finally rest in piece.

It is my very first book of Fred Vargas, but certainly it won't be the last. I am hooked on her crime noir writing and I'll be definitely in the search of her other books. And they are so many.

My opinion: 4,5 / 5.

Book review: Flambé in Armagnac by Jean-Pierre Alaux & Noël Balen

* ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *

Publication date: August 6, 2015.

In the heart of Gascony, a fire ravages the warehouse of one of Armagnac s top estates, killing the master distiller. Wine expert Benjamin Cooker is called in to estimate the value of the losses. But Cooker and his assistant Virgile want to know more. Did the old alembic explode? Was it really an accident? Why is the estate owner Baron de Castayrac penniless? How legal are his dealings?"

I recently started the new meme „International Crime“, starting with French crime authors this month. I really think that there is no better start for this meme than a book about wine, mystery and a French castle.

I met Benjamin and his assistant Virgile previously in „Mayhem in Margaux“ and joined them solving the mystery of the car accident. This time they are back with another brand of wine and mystery to solve. There has been a fire in a castle where the best wine Armagnac is produced and the master distiller is dead. Benjamin Cooker is called to estimate the losses and find out more about the fire. Was is an accident or was it all about the insurance? Was the death of master distiller an accident or an attempted murder? Benjamin Cooker has to leave his wife alone on New Year and with his assistant Virgile drive on thin ice to the Chateau Blanzac to find out. But the Chateau doesn't reveal its secrets that easy. The winemaker duo has to use the detective skills to solve the mystery behind the sweetness of the Armagnac.

The character that I absolutely adore here is Virgile, Benjamin's assistant. He is smart, young, clumsy, everything. He is very educated about wine, but he is also a great detective himself. With every other mystery his observation skills are more and more expressed. He is also Virgo, like me, and I can see many of my Virgo habits in his character. It is very easy for me to connect with him as a character.

I also love the writing style of the authors. There are many expressions and old sayings that are used in my country and it is easy for me to understand the whole story. I fell in love with the characters and the plot and I felt like almost tasting the Armagnac.

So, wine lovers, and book lovers also, if you love a perfect break in the shadows of your garden or under the sun on the beach, get a glass of the tasteful Armagnac, and enjoy this cozy mystery perfect for relaxation. Even your gray cells will enjoy!

My opinion: 4,5 / 5.

Preorder the book on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. 

Book Review: The City of Blood by Frédérique Molay

*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Paris today. There is an excavation on the place formerly known as Parisian slaughterhouse, also called The City of Blood. Thirty years earlier, Samuel Cassian, a major performance artist, made an extraordinary piece of art. He held a banquet at the place and asked each guest to bring something that was later buried. Now, thirty years later, all those things have to be dug up. But what no one expected is the finding of a skeleton, buried thirty years earlier, possibly in the same time with all those pieces of forks and dishes. To make things worse, thirty years earlier, the son of Samuel Cassian, went missing. Is this his body? Is it possible that the artist himself buried his own son? What's more weird is that the body remains show marks connected with modern day murders done by "The Paris Butcher".

The detective Nico Sirsky works on the case. He and his crew are working on the case "The Paris Butcher". The murderer leaves his victims with a specific mark, a piece of flesh on the shoulder is cut off. But these are modern day murders. How come a thirty-years-old skeleton has the very same mark? Is this the first murder? Is this where it all started?

To solve a crime from the present, Nico has to go back in time thirty years ago. All the visitors at the banquet are now suspects. In the very same time, he worries to death about his mother who suffers a heart attack and needs a surgery that she might not survive.

Comparing with the previous book, "Crossing the Line", the investigation in this story is more intriguing. There is more tension, more turn-overs. I enjoyed every single page. Nico is a great character, very tough when it comes for solving crimes. The author also shows his soft side by including his mother as a character and presenting Nico as a good son. Even if it is part three of the series, this book can easily stand alone. Well written, set up in a unusual surrounding, The City of Blood is a real refreshment for all those crime-fiction lovers who want to try something different. Totally recommended. 

My opinion: 4.5 / 5.

Book Review: Crossing the Line by Frédérique Molay

*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I don't know many French authors of crime books, simply because not many of them are translated in English. So I was very excited when I found a gem like this one. Crossing the Line is actually second in the series and I figured that out by requesting the third one on Netgalley. After the third one, I came back for the previous books. I didn't find the first one, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the next book in the series.

The story begins with anatomy class at medical school when a strange message is found in a tooth of a corp. "I was murdered"-it says. Is it a sick student's joke or is there something more going on? The body belongs to a well-known pharmacist who has committed a suicide. But why would someone who is suicidal leave a message "I was murdered"?