Die schöne Diva von Saint- Jacques

Les Evangélistes #1

by Fred Vargas

Die pure finanzielle Not hat drei französische Historiker zusammengewü Matthias, der Jäger und Sammler, den die Frühgeschichte fasziniert, Marc, der alles über das Mittelalter weiß und Lucien, der Spezialist für den Ersten Weltkrieg. Zuständig für die aktuelle Zeitgeschichte ist der Pate Marcs, ein ehemaliger Polizei-Kommissar. Zusammen beziehen sie ein heruntergekommenes Haus im südlichen Paris. Sie alle sind von ihrer schönen Nachbarin, einer ehemaligen Opernsängerin, angetan, die eines Tages spurlos verschwindet. Hat sie ihren treulosen Ehemann endgültig verlassen und ist zurück nach Griechenland, zu ihrem Jugendfreund? Merkwürdig, daß sie ihrer Nichte nicht Bescheid gegeben hat, die mit ihrem kleinen Jungen aus Lyon zu Besuch kommt. Die vier Männer, die sich privat ganz gut verstehen, doch beruflich einander spinnefeind sind, beginnen zu kombinieren. Schließlich ist man "kein Historiker, wenn man nicht schnüffeln kann". Sehr hilfreich dabei sind die beruflichen Beziehungen, die Marcs Patenonkel noch immer in das Kommissariat hat. Bis jedoch geklärt ist, welche Rolle der von unbekannter Hand frisch gepflanzte Baum im Garten der Sängerin spielt, denn diese Buche ist bei der Lösung des Falles von entscheidender Bedeutung, läßt die französische Autorin mit dem männlichen Namen Fred Vargas ihre vier Detektive tüchtig die grauen Zellen strapazieren. Immer wieder nimmt die Handlung eine neue, unerwartete Wendung, werden Details aus dem Vorleben bekannt, die, neu angeordnet, einen völlig neuen Zusammenhang ergeben. Ihren nächsten Fall Der untröstliche Witwer von Montparnasse klärt das ungleiche Team im Folgeband. -- Manuela Haselberger

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, France, Thriller, Detective, Noir

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of the French historian, archaeologist and writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (often mistakenly spelled "Audouin-Rouzeau"). She is the daughter of Philippe Audoin(-Rouzeau), a surrealist writer who was close to André Breton, and the sister of the historian Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, a noted specialist of the First World War who inspired her the character of Lucien Devernois.

Archeo-zoologist and historian by trade, she undertook a project on the epidemiology of the Black Death and bubonic plague, the result of which was a scientific work published in 2003 and still considered definitive in this research area: Les chemins de la peste : Le rat la puce et l'homme (Pest Roads).

As a novelist, Fred Vargas writes mostly crime stories. She found writing was a way to combine her interests and relax from her job as a scientist. Her novels are set in Paris and feature the adventures of Chief Inspector Adamsberg and his team. Her interest in the Middle Ages is manifest in many of her novels, especially through the person of Marc Vandoosler, a young specialist in the period.

She separated her public persona as a writer from her scientific persona by adopting the pseudonym Fred Vargas. "Fred" is the diminutive of her given name, Frédérique, while with "Vargas", she has chosen the same pseudonym than her twin sister, Jo Vargas (pseudonym of Joëlle Audoin-Rouzeau), a painter. For both sisters, the pseudonym "Vargas" derives from the Ava Gardner character in "The Barefoot Contessa".

Her crime fiction policiers have won three International Dagger Awards from the Crime Writers Association, for three successive novels: in 2006, 2008 and 2009. She is the first author to achieve such an honor. In each case her translator into English has been Sîan Leonard, who was also recognized by the international award.

Reviews

[Delphine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fred Vargas is probably the best detective fiction writer EVER. Her world is poetic, her characters are charming. Her novels are neither gory nor cosy. A must-read.

The three evangelists are particularly interesting: all three of them are historians, living in the same house: one is a specialist of prehistory, one of Medieval times and the last of WWI. They are quite hilarious.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three historians turned sleuths, helped by an uncle ex policeman do the honours of solving the crime in this one. The plot never stopped being a little silly, but it was great fun to read and I'll look for the other books in the series.

[Jokoloyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a typical mystery with atypical main characters.

Although the first half of novel was slow, and more like slice-of-life with no tight plot, but I have read worse/slower novels. Maybe I am a sucker for rag-tag team stories, and these three historians are eccentrics with some hilarious dialogs between them or with Uncle Vandoosler. And I like how they help each other . Love the scenes when Matthias and Marc helping drunk Lucien .

[Post Scriptum · Rating 3 out of 5]

In una casa di quattro piani, nota nel quartiere come “topaia”, s’insediano Marc, Lucien e Mathias, tre storici squinternati e squattrinati. Armand Vandoosler, ex sbirro corrotto, zio e padrino di Marc li raggiunge. Una stamberga di quattro piani, un piano per ciascuno.
Sul fronte occidentale, nel giardino di Sophie, ex cantante lirica, una mattina compare un faggio. La donna si rivolge ai vicini per risolvere la “faccenda”. Poche settimane dopo la comparsa dell’albero Sophie sparisce. I tre “evangelisti”, chiamati dal vecchio Vandoosler san Matteo, san Marco e san Luca iniziano a indagare con l’aiuto dello zio.
Tanti misteri e qualche morto ammazzato. Dovrei rabbrividire e invece rido. Non sono depravata, non amo la violenza, non riesco a guardare film con spargimenti di sangue né leggere storie raccapriccianti. Il fatto è che a un certo punto i tre storici squinternati e lo zio sbirro canaglia hanno preso il sopravvento. E loro sono uno spasso.
 
Mi serviva qualcosa per alleggerire i “tomoni”. Ed ecco il gialletto fresco come la granita di limone che attenua la canicola estiva.
Sempre che non ci si faccia domande. Altrimenti la temperatura sale.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great novel by Vargas! This one is even more deliciously eccentric than the others I've read, giving voice to the three evangelists, unconventional fellows all, the kind that we all want as our best friends. I don't know how she does it, but I simply fall in love with all her characters.

The story develops rather slowly, as all Vargas's works do, only to culminate in spectacular (and satisfying) endings.



I was rather indecisive about the manner in which the murder was committed; that is, not completely convinced that a woman could have done all the heaving-and-hoing that was required to effect all the stratagems of moving a dead body several times. Dead weight, no pun intended, of someone your own size is almost impossible as described, unless some sort of superhuman force is applied. Still, it might be possible I told myself ... only because I enjoyed the novel so much, as a whole.

It seems I have an addiction to Vargas novels. I won't stop reading her until I've read them all -- and will probably re-read them at some point.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Descrizione di un risveglio

Cosa fare se il blocco del lettore ti attanaglia? Prendi un noir. Prendi Fred Vargas. Affonda le chiappe nella poltrona, posiziona i piedi davanti al focolare e leggi.

L'elemento intrigante ti viene sbattuto in faccia dalla primissima battuta, ottima tattica per la pesca.
Avanzando, fioriscono i personaggi. Un po' stereotipati, ho letto in giro. Sì, non lo nego: sono personaggi stilizzati che vivono in un mondo stilizzato, creato da loro stessi. Tre storici, ognuno appassionato a un periodo diverso: Mathias, la preistoria; Marc, il medioevo; Lucien, la Grande Guerra. Tre coinquilini che affittano una topaia di quattro piani e ci si sistemano a strati, come sedimenti dimenticati dalla storia e dal suo strascico. I tre evangelisti: san Matteo, san Marco, san Luca.

Avanzando ancora, col giallo che ti viene sventolato costantemente sotto il naso, di fronte a personaggi che passano e non vengono notati sei tentato di sprofondare nuovamente nel tuo blocco del lettore. Impossibile scoprire l'assassino a metà libro, prima dei personaggi. E che diamine. Quando iniziano a scoprirlo il blocco ritorna, alza la voce, ti aspetta sulla soglia per intimorirti con il suo "torna con me".

Poi, all'ultimo, ti accorgi che non avevi capito niente. Un classico, io devo essere decisamente lenta, un perfetto allocco, preda appetibile dei giallisti. (Momento di autocommiserazione)

Le mie quattro stelline sono il risultato del puro godimento che ho tratto dalla lettura. Non è un libro particolarmente ben scritto, non è un giallo architettato in maniera avveniristica e non c'è attenzione per una caratterizzazione profonda dei personaggi. Ma non me ne importa niente: il mistero è aggrovigliato, e il nodo di cui è fatto somiglia tanto a quei deliziosi incroci tessuti da Daniel Pennac nella saga Malaussene. Nemmeno Pennac crea personaggi dalla forte caratterizzazione, anche Benjamin e Julie sono un po' la caricatura di loro stessi. Eppure ti entrano nel cuore. Come Marc coi suoi anelli e i suoi abiti neri, Mathias il taciturno, o Lucien l'incravattato, sempre pronto a dividere il mondo in trincee e fronti contrapposti. Quei tre evangelisti che osservano l'oggetto del mistero dalle loro finestre, come un gruppo di statue sul cocuzzolo di una chiesa.
In fondo era questo ciò che mi serviva: una buona storia, ricamata d'umorismo e di personaggi affabili seppelliti nella loro nerdosità. Una storia che continua in altri due romanzi: forse anche la Vargas si sentiva dispiaciuta nel separarsene.

E il blocco del lettore? C'è ancora, ma ha fatto un passo indietro e ha messo su un muso così con fare teatrale. Forse ci vorrà dell'altra Fred Vargas per convincerlo a non farsi più vedere.

[Gregoire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un des premiers Vargas Met en scène les 3 'saints' Lucien, Matthias et Marc, tous trois historiens de périodes différentes, plus ou moins marginaux, plus ou moins sans emploi, avec leurs manies mais aussi leurs regards et leurs intelligences, ainsi que l'oncle/parrain de Marc, ancien flic ... tous les quatre réunis récemment sous un même toit et tous les quatre intrigués par la disparition de leur voisine.

Impossible que Vargas n'ait pas côtoyé - j'allais dire : étudié - de tels êtres humains tant ils sont plus vrais que nature ; impossible de croire qu'ils sortent uniquement de son imagination Mais quel talent pour nous restituer, au moyen de mots ordinaires ou faussement anodins, leurs portraits, leurs travers, leurs motivations, leurs actes, avec quelle authenticité ...

J'ai adoré la traversée de Paris avec lancer de caillou ( denrée rare sur nos chaussées goudronnées) du pied par Marc et tant d'autres détails à la fois ordinaires et magiques

Quand j'en ai marre, qu'aucune histoire ne retient mon attention (manque de style, manque de fond, manque d'originalité etc) je me plonge dans un Vargas pour le plaisir de la langue française

c'est peut-être là son seul défaut, s'adresser prioritairement à des lecteurs de culture française

Ses références (tics de langage, culinaires, marabout, bout 'd'ficelle...) me parlent comme elles ne parleront peut-être pas autant à la jeune génération toute branchée virtualité et analyses façon Experts .

Tout au long du récit, on réfléchit, on note, on observe, on compare, on s'égare aussi parfois pour mieux revenir au cœur sans perdre de vue la profondeur des émotions mais en aiguillant délicatement le lecteur sur de fausses pistes pour mieux le surprendre à la fin, enfin on sourit ou on pleure ...

et quand bien-même j'aurais fini la série entière, je la relirai avec grand plaisir ...que dis-je ? avec délectation !

Si pour certains lecteurs (trices), ce n'est pas assez moderne, s'il n'y a pas assez de détails sanglants, s'il n'y a pas assez d'actions ou de scènes torrides bien que les turpitudes amoureuses n'y soient pas ignorées...

Tant pis pour eux !!!

Moi cela me convient : vous l'aurez compris : JE SUIS FAN

[paper0r0ss0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ci risiamo. I personaggi sarebbero simpatici, compaiono per la prima volta "I Tre Evangelisti", l'ambientazione sarebbe azzeccata, il meccanismo investigativo sarebbe abbastanza originale, i comprimari sarebbero ben delinati, sarebbero. Tutto al condizionale, tutto farebbe pensare a un buon romanzo giallo ma alla fine ci si rende conto che per lunghissime pagine non succede nulla e nulla colpisce. Lo scarto finale e' notevolmente positivo ma non riesce ad emendare il lungo approccio sottotono.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

One morning Sophia Simeonidis, a Greek opera singer living in Paris, is startled to find a tree planted in her garden that wasn't there the night before. She has no idea where it came from or why....and it frightens her. Her husband isn't particularly interested and he certainly isn't afraid. She decides to approach her new neighbors and ask them to investigate for her. Her neighbors are three historians: Mathias, Marc, and Lucien--or the three evangelists as they are referred to by Armand Vandoosler (Marc's godfather & uncle). Vandoosler is an ex-cop and believes the three young men should help her out. The men dig up the tree to see if anything is buried there, but find nothing.

Not too long after Sophia disappears and her husband is once again unconcerned. He says that Sophia has often gone off alone and has no doubt that she'll soon be home. But time passes and Sophia's niece Alexandra arrives for a visit--insisting that it was planned and that there's no way her aunt would have taken a trip when Alexandra was expected. The three evangelists renew their investigations with the help of the godfather and his friend, a current policeman. The trail leads to a body in a burned-out car--a body beyond being identified, but a black stone--basalt--is found beside the body. A stone that served as a talisman for the missing singer and it looks like the trail has come to an end. Now all they have to do is figure out who murdered Sophia and why. Or is that really all?

The best part of The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas for me has nothing to do with the mystery. Oh, that's good. It's well-plotted and allowed me to figure it out just before the denouement (which is the way I like it). But...the best part is the interaction of the three evangelists. I've given quite a few quotes below--but if I were to quote the sections I like with the three historians, I would be quoting huge chunks of the book. I love the mix of a pre-historian, a medievalist, and a World War I enthusiast. It's perfect. And I thoroughly enjoyed how the qualities of the historical scholars were put to use and managed to come to the correct solution.

The second best thing is the lyrical language of the translation from the French. Sian Reynold provides an English translation that keeps the flavor of the French language while making the story entirely accessible for English speakers. There are a couple of passages that somehow manage to come across as very British--but overall, a brilliant translation that is quite readable and enjoyable.

This is my first Fred Vargas Book. But it certainly won't be my last. Four stars.

This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

Quotes:

AV: Well, I see that everybody here goes prying into everyone else's affairs.
LD: You aren't a proper historian if you don't pry into people's affairs.
[Armand Vandoosler, Lucien Devernois; p. 38]

MV: ...those liberties may or may not come back to haunt him.
AV: As a rule they do.
[Marc Vandoosler, Armand Vandoosler; p. 39]

You see, Mathias, even if it might be more practical to have Lucien on the first floor, we can't mess about with chronology and disturb the layers set out by the staircase. The ladder of time is all we have left. [p. 59]

Frankly the idea of someone wanting revenge 20 years on seems pretty far-fetched to me. Life's too short, to nurse a grudge so long, you know what I mean? If everyone who'd ever been jilted plotted their revenge for years, we'd all be at each others' throats, wouldn't we? [Juliette, p. 65]

Meet my nephew, "St. Mark." The least little thing and he'll rewrite the gospel for you. [Armand Vandoosler; p. 115]

[Marc's] thoughts were in a whirl, clashing or diverging. Like the plates that move along on top of the hot heaving magma underneath the molten mantle of the earth. It's a scary thought, those plates sliding in all directions over the earth, unable to stay put. Tectonic plates they're called. Well, he was having tectonic thoughts. The thoughts were sliding about inside his head and sometimes, inevitably, clashed. With the usual sodding consequences. [p. 116]

Sophia was sorry she had missed the boat with reading. I told her that sometimes you read because you've missed some other boat. [Juliette; p. 127]

A policeman's strength lies either in a long monologue that crushes the opposition, or in a rapid response that kills it dead. You should never deprive a policeman of these well-rehearsed pleasures. Or he might turn nasty. [Armand Vandoosler; p. 133]

Once Mathias had gone, everyone fell silent. It was often like that living with Mathias, Marc reflected. When he was there, he hardly said anything and nobody took any notice of him. But when he left, it was as if the stone bridge they had all been standing on had suddenly disappeared and they had to find their balance again. [p. 142]

A; What do you expect from more time?
AV: Reactions. After a murder, nothing stands still. I'm waiting for reactions, even little ones. They will happen. One just has to be on the lookout for them.
[Alexandra, Armand Vandoolser; p. 143]

Being interrogated by detectives does not improve one's temper. [p. 152]

Alexandra was doing nothing. Well, nothing useful or profitable. She was sitting at a table,her head in her hands. She was thinking about tears, the tears that nobody sees, that nobody knows about, the tears shed in vain and unheeded. But which flow just the same. [p. 172]

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Sentence: ‘Pierre, something’s wrong with the garden,’ said Sophia.

Three young historians, Mathias, Marc and Lucian, and Marc’s ex-policeman uncle, Armand, buy a ramshackle house, known as the ‘disgrace’. When Armand sees the three young men standing each framed by a section of a gothic window, he coins them “the three evangelists.”

Their neighbor, Sophia, is an former opera singer. When she finds a tree has been planted in her garden, it causes her worry. She hires the young men to dig it up, just to reassure her that nothing is planted under it. When Sophia disappears, the young men, with the help of Armand, are determined to find out what happened.

I particularly like books which are character driven, and this certainly was. I loved the characters. Sophia, the retired opera singer worried about a tree which appears in her garden, the three evangelists, so named by Armand, an ex-flic and uncle to St. Mark (Marc the Middle Ages historian who always wears black), St. Martin (Mathias the Prehistoric historian who dislikes wearing clothes), and St. Luck (Lucian the Great Wars historian who always wears a tie). I felt Vargas really liked her characters and made me like them in turn.

Even the house, in which the four men live, almost becomes a character in the story. The story is wonderfully plotted, escalating bit-by-bit to the final climatic reveal. The reveal itself was particularly well done as it wasn’t dry and unemotional, as most are, but filled with pain and disappointment.

Perhaps because she is Parisian and writing about her own city, there wasn’t as strong a sense of place as I, a foreigner, might have liked. However, it is her familiarity with place that made me feel comfortable there as well.

This was one of the better translations. The dialogue worked very well, particularly the occasional banter between the principal characters.

Vargas’ writing captivates me. It is filled with warmth, humor and emotion. I highly recommend it.

THE THREE EVANGELISTS (Ama. Sleu-3 historians and godfather-Paris-Cont) – VG+
Vargas, Fred – standalone
Vintage, 2006, UK paperback – ISBN: 9780099469551

[Okenwillow · Rating 5 out of 5]

J’ai dévoré ce livre en moins de deux. Debout les morts nous présente un insolite trio d’historiens fauchés, Marc le médiéviste, Mathias le préhistorien, et Lucien le contemporéaniste de 14/18, qui occupent chacun un étage d’une baraque pourrie qu’ils partagent avec un vieux flic réputé lui aussi pourri, parrain et oncle de Marc. Les “évangélistes” ont chacun un caractère bien à eux, leurs manies, forcément liées à leurs passions et spécialités, ils sont excentriques, obsessionnels, sombres. Le style de Vargas est encore une fois un délice linguistique. Elle pratique l’argot poétique, la métaphore parlante, l’imagerie verbale. Les dialogues sont vifs, plein d’humour et de finesse. Ça frise parfois le surréalisme, mais ça reste d’une cohérence infaillible. L’intrigue est délicieusement tordue, efficace, les rebondissements pas assez nombreux pour être lourds, juste bien dosés et bien placés. Pour l’avoir rencontrée à Frontignan cette année, j’ai constaté que Vargas pratique le même humour que ses personnages, mordant, vif, intelligent et irrésistible, avec un naturel confondant. Incontournable.

[Vivienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb work of French crime fiction from the always wonderful Fred Vargas. It was the winner of the inaugural 2006 International CWA Dagger, a prize that Vargas also won in 2008 and 2009 . While I have read all of her other books I had somehow skipped over this one. Now with a second novel featuring the three evangelists being published in English I thought it the perfect time to read the first.

This was a classic mystery; quite low key with a group of historians and a retired policeman solving the mystery of the disappearance of their next door neighbour, a wealthy and famous opera singer. As with the Adamsberg series, there is a great deal of eccentricity and a terrific sense of place.

[Encarni Prados · Rating 4 out of 5]

Segundo libro que leo de esta autora francesa. Me ha gustado también como el otro. En este caso es el comienzo de una trilogía que, sin duda, seguiré. Unos personajes muy bien trazados, unos cuantos sospechosos y un final sorprendente.

[Anne-Laure Dixneuf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Premier roman de l'auteur pour moi, et malheureusement sans doute le dernier. Je ne dirais pas que cette histoire est un flop, car ce serait mentir, mais ce n'est pas non plus une lecture qui m'a transcendée. Revenons sur ces presque 300 pages.

Un matin, Sophia Siméonidis aperçoit un arbre dans son jardin, un arbre que ni elle ni son mari n'ont fait planter. Cela l'intrigue et lui fait même peur. Puis, quand de nouveaux voisins investissent la « baraque pourrie », à côté de chez elle, elle se dit qu'elle peut peut-être leur demander de l'aider à percer ce mystère. Marc, Lucien et Matthias, trois historiens de périodes différentes, se prennent d'amitié pour elle et décident de l'aider. Mais, du jour au lendemain, Sophai disparaît, en prévenant à peine son mari. Pour les trois voisins, quelque chose cloche. Aidés de l'oncle et ancien flic de Marc, qui vit avec eux, ils vont mener l'enquête.

Autant le dire tout de suite, je ne me suis pas attachée aux personnages. L'intrigue également m'a plutôt laissée de marbre. Enfin, c'est avec le style même de l'auteur, ou bien du genre, que j'ai eu le plus de mal. Fred Vargas utilise les codes de l'enquête policière avec brio, elle maîtrise son sujet et on peut entendre en écho l'approbation d'une Agatha Christie. Hélas, ce n'est définitivement pas pour moi. Je n'ai pas accroché. Et puis, les personnages m'ont semblé froids, distants. Je n'arrivais pas à me sentir concernée par tout ce qu'il se passait.

Petit point positif, tout de même : alors que je pensais avoir trouvé la solution, l'auteur a su mettre en place un twist final qui m'a agréablement surprise. C'est, m'a-t-on dit, une de ses spécialités. Et puis, avec le recul, je me dis quand même que tout était bien ficelé, chaque détail comptait. Mais la lecture en elle-même était trop laborieuse pour que je réitère l'expérience.
Donc, sans remettre en cause le talent de l'auteur, ce qui n'est ni mon but, ni mon rôle, je dirais simplement que je n'ai pas été touchée par l'histoire, le style, l'ambiance. Il me manquait une mise en place un peu plus approfondie, un peu plus de recherches, de détails pour étayer tout ça. Éléments que m'apportent les thrillers, mais pas les romans policiers. Je ne regrette pas d'avoir essayé du côté de Fred Vargas, je sais désormais que ce n'est pas pour moi.

[ina · Rating 4 out of 5]

OHLALAAAA!!!!!!!
mais en fait il fallait me le dire plus tôt que les romans policiers/thriller (je ne connais pas la différence, oops 😬(enfin je crois que policier c’est si on suit un policier qui enquête, sinon plutôt mystery book mais je ne sais pas si c’est exactement pareil) étaient si divertissant! je l’ai finis dans le train mais j’avais envie réagir à voix haute tellement je ne m’attendais pas à la fin mais les gens allaient me prendre pour une folle…. (après peut être que c’est juste moi qui ne lit tellement pas de livre de ce genre que je ne sais pas trouver les indices laissés par l’autrice)
aprees, le seul petit (🤏🏾) point négatif c’est l’écriture dont je n’étais pas trop trop fan mais bon, on s’y fait rapidement ( and i guess that’s how men think so… )

le personnage de mathias le préhistorien qui est blond au yeux bleus, ça ne me fera jamais pas penser à l’oral blanc du brevet

[Frédéric · Rating 1 out of 5]

Introduction to the "3 evangelists" series (Mark, Matthew, Luke) this book is a real disappointment. Not so much the plot, a bit a far-fetched but I can live with it- than the characters.
The "evangelists# are 3 historians-each one more or less obsessed with the period he studies- and supposedly 3 adorable losers at odds with their lives.
They are simply plain boring. So full of wind it's irritating.

They don't do much but being there, being off. Their dialogues ring so horribly wrong most of the time it's a pain to read. Sure, it also happens in Vargas' other series "Adamsberg" but it's easier to endure because you actually end up caring for the characters. Here they are so empty, so vapid, you might as well care for a clam!
If their interactions are supposed to be humorous or inspire simpathy of any kind, well, it falls far from the mark.

In the end the book is 20 pages of intriguing introduction, 20 pages of quite a bit dodgy resolution and a long road of boredom in between. The 3 evangelists don't seem fit to preach the Good Word to anybody.

[Kirja Vieköön! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pystyyn kuolleet on Fred Vargasin ihastuttavan ja epätavallisen dekkaritrilogian aloitusosa. Kaikki kolme ovat tulossa suomeksi, hienoa.

Vanhaan lahoamaisillan olevaan taloon pariisilaisella pikkukadulla ovat vastikään muuttaneet kolme kusessa olevaa nuortamiestä. Kaikilla ikää kolmeviis, taustalla historianopintoja, mutta ei järkevää työpaikkaa eikä penniäkään rahaa. Helposti hermostuva, mustaan pukeutuva Marc eli Markus ilmentää olemuksellaan erikoisalaansa, pimeää keskiaikaa; vaalea viikinki, vähissä vaatteissa viihtyvä Matthias eli Matteus on alansa esihistorian tyyliin metsästäjä-keräilijä ja puhelias Lucien eli Luukas rakentelee alituiseen rintamalinjoja, kuten ensimmäisen maailmansodan ekspertille sopii. Taloon muuttaa myös Marcin eno, virkarikoksesta hyllytetty poliisi, vaiheikkaan elämän elänyt Armand Vandoosler.

Tarinan viehätys piilee näissä keskenään kinastelevissa tyypeissä, jotka ovat henkilöhahmoina mainioita. Kyllä tässä murha/murhiakin tapahtuu, mutta juju on ehdottomasti Vargasin kerronnassa. Jos pidät komisario Adamsbergistä, kolme evankelistaa on sinulle myös.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyllä täytyy taas kerran todeta, että Vargasin kirjailijaääni on todella persoonallinen. Herkullista sanailua ja mielenkiintoisia hahmoja. Pidin tästä, mutta tämän ensimmäisen osan perusteella Adamsberg-sarja on silti mielestäni Vargasin 'ykkönen' tähän Evankelistaan verrattuna.

[Elettra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avevo già letto un poliziesco della Vargas ma, pur essendo eccellente come impostazione e scrittura, mi era sembrato un po’ troppo complesso. Questo invece è più brillante, divertente con personaggi assolutamente fuori dagli schemi e situazioni quanto mai insolite. Io non sono riuscita ad individuare chi era il colpevole. Penso proprio che leggerò le altre avventure deI Tre Evangelisti!!

[Bea Tris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Bibi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Noel Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I enjoy the mysteries of Fred Vargas sometimes she stretches the limits I can suspend my disbelief just a bit too thin. This one was pretty good but there are some pretty far fetched scenes near the end that ruined it a bit for me. Still a fun read but a bit too implausible for me to rate any higher.

[Fefs Messina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Se tutti i libri della Vargas sono così, non credo proprio che quest'autrice faccia per me. Mi sembra che si concentri troppo sulla vita dei personaggi e troppo poco sul delitto, che dovrebbe invece essere il centro della vicenda in un giallo.
Ho trovato il libro abbastanza noioso per le prime 100 pagine. I dialoghi e i tre evangelisti mi hanno fatto mandare gli occhi al cielo più di una volta e non capisco perchè mai tre storici debbano avere la propria personalità costruita in base a ciò che studiano. Capisco che qualcuno possa mostrare delle deformazioni professionali, ma è abbastanza irreale che tre storici di tre periodi diversi siano tutti e tre completamente assuefatti dal proprio lavoro da pensare solo in relazione a quello. Lucien che parla in gergo militare è ridicolo e anche molto fastidioso; Mathias (che è forse il personaggio meno irritante perchè praticamente non dice nè fa niente) viene sempre definito cacciatore-raccoglitore che da la caccia all'uro, qualsiasi cosa faccia o dica; Marc è un uomo banale e, a parte pensare spesso al suo adorato Medioevo, non ho individuato un tratto caratteristico che lo distinguesse come personaggio (a meno che non si voglia definire le sue reazioni esagerate e abbastanza casuali verso la fine del libro un tratto).
In quanto a questo misterioso padrino, il signor Vandoosler, pensavo sinceramente che la Vargas lo avesse incluso in altri romanzi, magari come investigatore che agisce nell'ombra accanto all'effettivo protagonista; ma dopo una breve ricerca ho scoperto che no, Vandoosler non viene incluso in nessun altro romanzo. Un peccato, mostrava di avere le carte per diventare un personaggio di rilievo.
In quanto al delitto in sè, c'è poco da dire poichè sembra quasi messo da parte in confronto alle vicende personali dei personaggi. La serie di eventi che non sembrano collegati tra loro, ma che alla fine combaciano abbastanza bene e un assassino impossibile da indovinare forniscono un buon finale condito di plot twist.
Due stelline proprio perchè "it was ok", niente di speciale.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book partly ruined by the excessive enthusiasm of my French professor -- analyzing a plane book, a fairly typical mystery, as if it were grand literature, is a deeply frustrating endeavor. Still, I recognize the good in this book: it's much funnier than the average mystery, its characters atypical and quite amusing.

The mystery itself is hardly compelling (I could very easily put this one down), and the juicy twists and turns reveal themselves in just a few pages at the end, which means that the rest of the book sort of feels like filler, but that's the nature of many mysteries, I suppose.

[Katia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un albero. Uno storico del Medioevo, uno della Preistoria, uno della Grande Guerra. Un ex poliziotto. Questi sono gli ingredienti per un romanzo giallo che ti porta a pensare di aver trovato il colpevole, ma subito dopo cambiano le carte in tavola, e ancora, e ancora...
Vargas non si perde in chiacchere. La narrazione è incentrata sui fatti. Non ci sono digressioni o futili dettagli. Inizialmente è un pò difficile entrare nello stile della scrittrice e comprendere i personaggi, soprattutto se, come me, siete abituati ai gialli della Christie! Ma Vargas non delude. La sua penna ti regala le emozioni e i turbamenti che solo un vero giallo riesce a dare. Cinque stelle meritate!

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read the others in the series and finally found Book One. The Three Evangelists are mid 30 year old historians with specialties that don't get them a job. They seem to talk and think in their speciality eras (stone age, middle ages or WWI). They live together with a retired cop. Their neighbour goes missing and together they piece together the history of the victim and the surprising murderer.
It does read a bit like Agatha Christie with these unusual sleuths who all are a bit eccentric but at the same time quite brilliant in their own special ways.

[Gerti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wieder ein Vargas, der mich in seinen Bann zog. Erstmal konnte ich ja mit der Bezeichnung Evangelisten-Reihe nichts anfangen. Beim lesen wurde es mir allerdings klar. Eine witzige Idee und wieder einmal interessante Charaktere und ein nicht minder spannender und verzwickter Fall. Diesmal lag ich mit der Mördertypisierung knapp daneben. Was bei Vargas gar nicht so einfach ist, da sie den Leser und die Hobbyermittler immer auf geschickt angelegte, falsche Fährten führt.

[Silvia Sba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es mi primer libro de Fred Vargas. Seguiré toda la trilogía de los evangelistas y también la serie del comisario Adamsberg. Me ha entretenido mucho y me ha hecho reír en situaciones disparatadas. Es una novela negra diferente.

[Calpurnia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me lo he pasado muy bien leyendo este libro, sí. Por supuesto sigo con la serie.

[Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

On s'identifie bien à ces anti-héros type ancien premier de la classe. Semi-intello, semi-marginaux. L'histoire est très bien ficelée.