This Poison Will Remain

This Poison Will Remain by Fred Vargas

Translator:  Siân Reynolds

Publication Date: August 20, 2019

Publisher: Penguin Books

Originally published as Quand sort la recluse, 2017

Blurb

“A murder in Paris brings Commissaire Adamsberg out of the Icelandic mists of his previous investigation and unexpectedly into the region of Nîmes, where three old men have died of spider bites. The recluse has a sneaky attack, but is that enough to explain the deaths of these men, all killed by the same venom?

At the National Museum of Natural History, Adamsberg meets a pensioner who tells him that two of the three octogenarians have known each other since childhood, when they lived in a local orphanage called The Mercy. There, they had belonged to a small group of violent young boys known as the “band of recluses.” Adamsberg faces two obstacles: the third man killed by the same venom was not part of the “band of recluses,” and the amount of spider venom necessary to kill doesn’t add up.

Yet after the Nîmes deaths, more members of the old band succumb to recluse bites, leading the commissaire to uncover the tragedy hidden behind the walls of the orphanage.” (from Goodreads)

This is number 11 in the Commissaire Adamsberg series, but it can be read as a standalone. It took me a little while to get acquainted with the various officers in Adamsberg’s squad. However, each has a distinct personality (and idiosyncrasies) and after a while, they feel like old friends.

My thoughts

When I began reading This Poison Will Remain, I wasn’t certain what to expect. Fortunately, in this case, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I always enjoy the dynamics of police procedurals: the different personalities and work habits, the various quirks, the rivalries and alliances, the way they pull together under their leader–or revolt. I have no idea if real life police investigators act like this, but it’s interesting to read in fiction. This book was no exception.

Adamsberg’s team features a man with an encyclopedic memory for minutiae, an IT genius with narcolepsy, an ichthyologist wannabe, and a junior officer who’s effective at making coffee and ineffective at everything else, and others. While Adamsberg is normally an effective leader, in this book his team is divided over whether they ought to investigate the recluse spider deaths at all. Vargas uses this conflict to crank up the tension but also in some surprising ways.

This whole book is a bit of a surprise. There are touches of humor throughout. (I applaud translator Siân Reynolds for her ability to translate Vargas’ words and make the funny quips and one-liners feel fresh and funny in English. That can’t be easy!)

While I did have a good idea who the killer was, the path Adamsberg takes to arrive at his discovery twists and turns, dead ends and detours, much like a real investigation would.

That’s a good thing, because otherwise we might be incredulous by the fantastical nature of the crime. This book features one of the oddest murder methods I’ve read: death by recluse spider.

Mind you, this isn’t the same recluse that’s native to North America. This type is the non-aggressive, solitary Mediterranean recluse. According to the spider expert–an insufferable, know-it-all prig–the victim would need to be bitten by at least 22 spiders in order to receive enough venom to die.

Yet three men have died. How did the killer do this?

While that’s an intriguing puzzle, it’s the discovery of the reasons for the murders that kept me reading. Vargas takes us to some dark places. An orphanage where the original “Band of Recluses” terrorized others. An archaeological dig that seems medieval in origin. Dark memories that plague the commissaire. An attic, and the dark spaces lurking in the human heart.

A word of warning: this book is not for the faint of heart. Spiders are featured prominently throughout the book and those with arachnophobia might want to stay away.

It’s worth noting, however, that humans are far worse predators than any spider could be. As evidenced by the murders and the reasons for them, humans turn on their own kind. Even small children aren’t safe, and Vargas provides ample evidence for this, too. Consider that a trigger alert.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I’m interested in reading more of Fred Vargas’ work.

Note: I received a copy of This Poison Will Remain from Netgalley and Penguin Books in exchange for an honest review.