Book Review for

Have Mercy On Us All

by Fred Vargas

Joss Le Guern, captain of a fishing trawler, receives appearances
from his great-great grandfather who convinces Joss to take up his
outdated profession, that of town crier. Josh fashions a wooden box,
charges 5 Francs for each message or piece of news, and then loudly
announces them each day from a well-traveled intersection in Paris. He
is making a good living. However, along with the usual announcements,
he is receiving cryptic messages that warn of the imminent onset of
bubonic plague. Each message is from the diary of a man in 1665
when the Great Plague of London killed 70,000 people.

Joss lives in a boarding house with a colorful cast of characters.
Lizbeth, a former prostitute, is the housekeeper and a cabaret singer.
Evelyn Curie is a tiny, timid woman hiding out from her abusive husband.
Joss' landlord, Decambrais, is concealing a secret identity and is the son of
Joss' former history teacher. And Decambrais also knows the brilliant and
intuitive Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg who is asked to help solve this
baffling and dangerous mystery. A great story.


 Return to "Reading for Pleasure" page