The Chalk Circle Man by Fred VargasMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
It took me ten days to read this book. This book is less than 250 pages. That should not have happened.
For a start, I liked the majority of the characters in this book, particularly Adamsberg. He's different to other police detectives, he likes to draw and takes time to figure things out rather than making any rash decisions. Maybe this is what effects the pace of the novel as I found it rather slow going. At no point was I compelled to read to the next chapter to find out what was going on, this story was very much slow and steady. I really enjoyed Danglard's character too and the way that he was opposite to Adamsberg. He would get infuriated by how long it would take him to come to any conclusion or decision.
I liked the concept too. What are these chalk circles, why are they popping up around Paris and what is the significance of the items inside of them?
The reason why I gave this three stars was because they spent a long time avoiding the obvious. To begin with Mathilde gave them two clues: the chalk circle man lifts up his coat like a skirt and that his wife has a lover. Yet upon meeting a man whose wife has moved out to be with her lover, they don't make any sort of connection at all! Secondly, the smell of fruit was a big factor in identifying the culprit. Yet in the end, the reason why he smelled of fruit was never explained and just waved away, like it wasn't important.
Also, upon realising that the culprit wasn't the culprit, instead of moving further in the case, they went backwards. I seemed to spend the whole time waiting for the twist to come, and then it never happened.
On the other hand, I did enjoy reading about Adamsberg's ex-partner Camille. I was really interested in their story and I would really like to find more about what happened between them in the past.
I think I will continue to read novels in the Adamsberg series, I just hope the plot picks up and it makes a more interesting read.
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