Dance of the Assassins by Herve JubertMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this. Jubert writes with a fine sense of the absurd that never overwhelms the underlying story. It's set in a future where crime has been rendered almost obsolete by DNA tracers, and witches are on the unofficial payroll of the CID. A murder is discovered in one of the theme-park historic cities, where tracers are banned, and unlikely partners Roberta Morgenstein and rookie rich kid Clement Martineau are on the case.
Morgenstein is a joy to read about.
She was somewhere between forty-five and fifty-five, with a good life behind her, a life full of excellent meals, delicious liqueurs, and marshmallows. Not enough exercise. Well, none at all, except what came naturally. Roberta's love of comfort and a certain preference for making as little effort as possible had done nothing for her figure. Still, she'd come to terms with it.
What an unlikely heroine! But she moves through the story with dead-pan panache, competently foiling satan-worshipping villains and patiently fishing her puppy-like partner out of trouble while never passing up a shopping opportunity.
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