** Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month **

The exhilarating new Inspector Adamsberg novel from France''s multi-million-copy bestselling crime fiction star

**A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020**

''Adamsberg is one of my favourite detectives... I so enjoyed This Poison Will Remain'' ANN CLEEVES


After three elderly men are bitten by spiders, everyone assumes that their deaths are tragic accidents.

But at police headquarters in Paris, Inspector Adamsberg begins to suspect that the case is far more complex than first appears.

It isn''t long before Adamsberg is investigating a series of rumours and allegations that take him to the south of France. Decades ago, at La Miséricorde orphanage, shocking events took place involving the same species of spider: the recluse.

For Adamsberg, these haunting crimes hold the key to proving that the three men were targeted by an ingenious serial killer. His team, however, is not convinced. He must put his reputation on the line to trace the murderer before the death toll rises...
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PRAISE FOR THIS POISON WILL REMAIN:

''Absorbing... Full of twists and spiced with Vargas''s characteristic wit and style'' PETER ROBINSON

''Vargas is an addictive writer whose surreal touches create a curiously solid world'' INDEPENDENT

''Vargas''s books are...cunning, corkscrew murder mysteries'' A.J. FINN