The Commissaire Adamsberg is a Crime Fiction series by Fred Vargas, made up of 9 books published between 1991 and 2017. It begins with The Chalk Circle Man (1991), and is best read in publication order. The most recent entry is This Poison Will Remain (2017), spanning 26 years of storytelling.
| # | Title | Year | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | |||
| 1 | The Chalk Circle Man | 1991 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 2 | Seeking Whom He May Devour | 1999 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 2000s | |||
| 3 | Have Mercy on Us All | 2001 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 4 | This Night's Foul Work | 2006 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 5 | Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand | 2007 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 6 | An Uncertain Place | 2008 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 2010s | |||
| 7 | The Ghost Riders of Ordebec | 2011 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 8 | A Climate of Fear | 2015 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
| 9 | This Poison Will RemainLatest | 2017 | Buy from Amazon U.S / Intl. Buy from Amazon Australia |
Commissaire Adamsberg series: frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Commissaire Adamsberg series?
Start with The Chalk Circle Man (1991), the first book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series by Fred Vargas. Follow the books in publication order for the best reading experience.
How many books are in the Commissaire Adamsberg series?
There are 9 books in the Commissaire Adamsberg series by Fred Vargas, published between 1991 and 2017.
What is the first book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series?
The first book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series is The Chalk Circle Man, published in 1991 by Fred Vargas.
What is the latest book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series?
The most recent book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series is This Poison Will Remain (2017) by Fred Vargas.
About the Commissaire Adamsberg series
Fred Vargas's Commissaire Adamsberg novels are utterly distinctive French crime fiction — dreamy, eccentric and unlike anything else in the genre. Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is an intuitive, almost mystical Paris detective who solves cases by "shovelling clouds" — following hunches and odd details his rational colleagues dismiss.
Vargas (a historian and archaeologist) fills her mysteries with folklore, the macabre and a cast of wonderful oddballs. The plots are strange and the logic associative, making the series a singular, atmospheric pleasure.
Adamsberg's recurring team develops across the books, so reading in order from "The Chalk Circle Man" is rewarding, though the mysteries largely stand alone.