{{Short description|1991 novel by Fred Vargas}} {{infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> | name = The Chalk Circle Man | title_orig = L'Homme aux cercles bleus | translator = Sian Reynolds | image = File:L'Homme aux cercles bleus.jpg | caption = First edition (French) | author = Fred Vargas | cover_artist = | country = France | language = French | series = Commissaire Adamsberg | genre = Crime / Thriller | publisher = Hermé | release_date = 1991 | media_type = | pages = | isbn = 9780143115953 | preceded_by = | followed_by = Seeking Whom He May Devour }}
'''''The Chalk Circle Man''''' (French: ''L'Homme aux cercles bleus'') is a novel by French crime-writer Fred Vargas. The first of her Commissaire Adamsberg series, it was published in 1991. An English translation by Sian Reynolds was published in 2009.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/feb/21/chalk-circle-men-review|title=The Chalk Circle Man|last=Wilson|first=Laura|date=2009-02-20|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-07-19|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Vargas received the 2009 Crime Writers Association International Dagger for this work.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jul/16/fred-vargas-scandinavians-international-dagger|title=Fred Vargas holds off Scandinavians at Dagger awards|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=2009-07-16|work=The Guardian|access-date=2023-11-27|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
The novel is the first in a series featuring French policeman Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg. It describes the background of Adamsberg's move to Paris, the origins of his partnership with Inspector Adrien Danglard, and a glimpse at his elusive relationship with Camille. Much emphasis is placed on the theme of different ways of thinking - contrasting the two policemen's distinct approaches to investigations, and indeed life. There are also a number of typical Vargas elements in the story: a pedestrian's view of the geography of Paris, independent, eccentric but effective older women, a misdirection of the apparently abnormal drawn over the deliberate actions of a killer.
A telefilm of the novel (2009) starred Jean-Hugues Anglade as Adamsberg, Charlotte Rampling as Mathilde Forestier, Jacques Spiesser as Danglard and Jean-Pierre Léaud as Louis le Nermond, and was directed by Josée Dayan.
==References== <references />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalk Circle Man, The}} Category:1991 French novels Category:Novels by Fred Vargas Category:French mystery novels Category:Novels set in Paris Category:French novels adapted into films Category:1990s mystery novels
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