When blue chalk circles begin to appear on the pavement in neighborhoods around Paris, detective Commissaire Adamsberg is alone in thinking that they are far from amusing. As he studies each new circle and the increasingly bizarre objects they contain, he senses the cruelty that lies within whoever is responsible. And when a circle is discovered containing a woman with her throat cut, Adamsberg knows that this is just the beginning.--From publisher's...

On the outskirts of Paris, two men have been found with their throats cut, and despite the common assumption that the crime is a drug-related incident, Commissaire Adamsberg becomes convinced that the deaths are the work of a serial killer with split personalities and enlists the assistance of pathologist Ariane Lagarde to help him unravel the truth.

"As the chief of police in Paris's seventh arrondissement, Commissaire Adamsberg has no jurisdiction in Ordebec. Yet, he cannot ignore a widow's plea. Her daughter Lina has seen a vision of the Ghost Riders with four nefarious men. According to the thousand-year-old legend, the vision means that the men will soon die a grisly death. When one of them disappears, Adamsberg races to Ordebec, where he becomes entranced by the gorgeous Lina--and embroiled...

Commissaire Adamsberg investigates the death of three men linked by their childhood at an orphanage in Nimes, all killed by the venom of the recluse spider.