Alongside Pierre Lemaitre, we reckon Fred Vargas represents the best of contemporary French crime fiction and the author is fully on form with A Climate of Fear, the latest Commissaire Adamsberg book. This mystery begins in Paris, where an old woman, barely able to walk, drags herself to secretly post a letter. Later, in her flat, she’s found dead in the bath and a strange sign has been left on the tub. The clues lead Adamsberg to look into a secret society inspired by the French revolutionary, Robespierre – one of the instigators of the Reign of Terror. It becomes more of a wild adventure when Adamsberg ends up following a lead in Iceland and Vargas gives the book a bit of a Nordic noir vibe.

There’s no way you’d love us if we didn’t point this book out to you and recommend it. So, grab a copy, and read our full review here too.