Have Mercy on Us All is the first of the books featuring Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg to be translated from French and is part of a new series to be published by Harvill. At a time where the translation of European crime novels is becoming part and parcel of the crime fiction scene, Have Mercy on Us All is a worthy addition.

This is a dark tale of revenge, the plague and family secrets. With a Police Commissaire who has a faulty memory and a deputy who does not hesitate to voice his opinions this is a rather unusual story.

Joss le Guren a former sailor now a town crier in the 14^th arrondissement of Paris has had some rather strange messages left in his urn for him to read out. As the messages have been paid for, he feels obliged to read them out. However, the messages soon begin to get more ominous and danger is hinted at. At the same time someone is painting reversed 4s in black paint on doors. Soon the whole town is in uproar over what is going on. Has this some significance with the "specials" that le Guren has been reading out? Commissaire Adamsberg believes so and finds himself unravelling a tale that goes back over fifty years involving two different sets of children from the same family and a serious crime that took place for which the wrong person was sent to jail.

With other issues intervening Have Mercy on Us All is an intriguing tale, with a number of suspects to choose from all of who have their own secrets. At times sombre and harrowing but with fascinating detail it draws you slowly but surely into the story. The characters are very well drawn; from the behaviour and attitudes of the locals to the police there is a subtlety to the novel, which brings a delicate touch to this haunting mystery. While the ending did not come as a surprise it was very neatly done.

Fred Vargas is a very interesting author and her occupation as an archaeologist is evident from the attention to detail that is seen in the book. For those of us that believe that more crime books should be translated, then I believe that Harvill are certainly on to a winner.