Thos of you who like Maigret may take to Fred Vargas (pseudonym) who has
hit the French tec scene in a big way. A couple of her detective novels
have been translated with more  I am sure to come. She is an
archaeologist by profession specialising in animal bone analysis and has
also written on the Black Death. Like Simenont her books are studies of
manners with archaeological tones rather than ultra violent.

paul courtney
Leicester
UK